The Legacy of Lupin
by Alexis Ravenlockes
Summary: H.P. crossover. Rahne Sinclair always had questions about her real parents, but never the means to search for answers. When the Xmen go to London to escape antimutant feelings, Rahne searches for answers and finds herself a pawn in the middle of a war.
1. Longing

**Authors' Note:** Before you begin reading this lovely bit of fiction, there are a few things you should be forewarned of. First off, in the X-men Evolution side of things, this story takes place after Apocalypse and the end of the series.

Secondly, Rahne and Jubilee have returned because their parents decided that they would be better off at the Institute and all that Jazz.

Next, Gambit and Colossus have joined the X-men and Pyro has joined the Brotherhood. Not going to delve into the reasoning for that as it is not really important to the story.

That basically wraps up the X-men side, now onto the Harry Potter side of things . . .

This story takes place during the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix. It is AU so we will be messing with the story line _quite_ a bit. There (obviously) will be spoilers from the first four books as well as the fifth. If you haven't read them yet, what are you doing here, go out and read the books now.

Your humble Mistresses of Mayhem and Crossovers:  
**Alexis Ravenlockes** & _Jinxeh

* * *

_

**_The Legacy of Lupin_**

Chapter 1: Longing

Rahne Sinclair released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she moved along the wall in a crouched position. She could feel the cool concrete of the massive warehouse through her blue and yellow X-men training uniform. She was in her position to strike; she just had to wait for the call.

"Wolfsbane to Iceman," she whispered through her comm. link, her Scottish accent rich with the excitement she held for the mission, "I'm in position, ready to strike." The earpiece in her ear crackled to life.

"Good," her team leader responded, "X-23, what's the guards' status?" The crackle of the comm. links died down for a moment before coming back to life.

"They're patrolling their routes," a girl's voice crackled over the link; X-23's voice to be exact, "They are about one minute from being in position."

"Sixty seconds, ladies and gents," Iceman reiterated, "Remember, get in, get your target, and get out. It's a rescue mission, not a frontal attack."

"Thirty seconds," X-23 chimed in once Iceman finished, "Everybody prepped?" It was more of a rhetorical question, and Rahne began to transform into her feral form: half-teenage girl, half-wolf.

"Move out!" Iceman commanded and Rahne, in her complete feral form, leapt up and grabbed onto the edge of a window that was six feet above her head. With a mighty upward thrust, she threw the window open and crawled into the room. She quickly crossed the width of the room and moved into the hall. Passing several doors, she finally found the right one and tried the door. Unsurprisingly, she found it locked. With another mighty jerk, she had the offending lock ripped off.

As she entered the room she transformed back into a normal looking fourteen year old girl. She needed to get the girl out of here with out having her freak out. Rahne immediately saw that the girl was strapped to a medical examining table. She rushed forward and began undoing the straps as the girl stared at her with wide green eyes.

"Me name's Rahne, lassie," she said with her lightly accented voice, "I'm de one rescuin' you tonight." The girl laughed softly and blew her white bangs out of her face. Rahne finished with one hand strap and moved onto the feet while the other girl began working on freeing her other hand. Her earpiece crackled to life.

"Security has been tripped," X-23 said into the comm. link, "you guys have about a minute to get out before getting caught."

"Can you distract them in any way?" the familiar voice of Jubilee said over the frequency, "I'm too far into the building to get out in that short of time." There was a moment of radio silence.

"Yes," X-23 said eventually, "I'm pulling them away from the buildings now." By the time this conversation had terminated, Rahne and her target were moving through the halls back to the window Rahne had first entered. It wasn't a far drop, but Rahne looked at the girl.

"D'you think you c'n make de jump?" Rahne asked and the girl smirked.

"'Course Ah cahn," she said before jumping easily out of the window and landing on the ground. Rahne did her half transformation and leapt from the window as well. Once she hit the ground, she transformed back and began to run, crouched, along the walls with her target following closely. Rahne's ears pricked up as she heard the distant sound of gunshots.

"Ah'm hit!" Sam's voice sounded over the radio. Rahne groaned inwardly. They had been doing so well!

"_End simulation"_ the robotic female's voice sounded throughout the chamber, and the warehouses and forest surroundings faded away. They were replaced by a well lit large white and silver room with nothing in it other than the group of teenage mutants who had been training. Rahne looked around to her teammates; everyone seemed to be fine, except the Southern boy who was gripping his shoulder in pain.

"Cannonball, are you alright?" a calm, Oxford accented voice came over the speakers from the control booth suspended above the empty room. Cannonball, or Sam Guthrie, flashed a thumb's up to the booth.

"Ah'll live," he said standing slowly, "but dose rubbah bullets hahrt like hell." This comment elicited a chuckle from his teammates.

"Very well then," the calm voice said again, "New Mutants, please report up to the control booth. X-men you are dismissed." Rahne let out a sigh, the "after-the-fact" analysis was always the worst part of the Danger Room sessions. Rahne's target, the X-woman known as Rogue, let out a soft chuckle.

"Yah newbies are so funny," she drawled slowly, "These trahin' sessions are nothin' compared ta what Logahn had us doin' our firs' tahme out. Y'all should considah yerselves lucky . . ." Rahne smiled knowingly. She had always liked the older, gothic, southern girl. She saw everything in black and white, and she wasn't afraid to tell you how she truly felt.

Giving her a wave goodbye, Rahne joined the rest of the New Mutants as they made their way up to the control room. Everyone hoped it would be a short meeting, but they had a feeling it would drag on for awhile. The doors to the room opened with the familiar _whoosh_ sound and the students filed in and awaited their doom. Logan eyed each of the teens carefully.

"Overall," he said gruffly, "You lot did fairly well. Popsicle, ya did a good job leading and making sure everything and everyone was set to the best circumstances." Iceman, otherwise known as Bobby Drake, beamed knowing that Logan had almost given him a compliment.

"Girl," he said turning to X-23, Cadence Howlett his daughter (or more accurately: his clone), "Good job distracting the security when Firecracker said she couldn't get out, but next time don't go full frontal. Get their attention and lead them away without attacking directly; you should only attack when it's completely necessary." The solemn brown-haired girl gave a curt nod.

"Speaking of the Firecracker," Logan turned and looked to a short, black-haired Asian girl who was better known as Jubilation Lee or Jubilee, "Not being able to get out in the time allowed was mainly your fault. If you had been paying attention during the debriefing, you would have known which room your target was in. Instead, you were spacing out and had to guess several times before you actually got to the right room." Jubilee blushed and became very interested in the tiling on the floor.

"Sparky," Logan said turning his sights on a sixteen year old that had bright blonde hair and orange bangs that stood up on end, "Good job with shorting out the security system to get into your target's room," Ray Crisp, or Berzerker, smiled broadly, "However, that was what tripped the security alarm." The smile vanished instantly. Logan readjusted his sights once again.

"Farm Boy," Logan turned to the boy rubbing his shoulder, "I only have two words for you: Constant Vigilance. Just because you can rocket yourself out of trouble doesn't mean you'll always be able to avoid it. You need to pay attention to your surroundings so you can use your powers when you do see danger." Sam nodded and continued rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Princess," Logan addressed Amara Aquilla gruffly, "You did a good job, but you freaked Kurt out when you came into the room in Magma form. You should have transformed back to normal before going in. If you suddenly appear to someone like that they're less likely to go with you." The sixteen year old nodded.

"Costa," Logan said turning to a dark haired Brazilian boy, "You exhausted yourself too quickly. Night missions are especially difficult for you considering your mutation. Next time, pace yourself and take your time. It's not a race." The boy shot a glare over to Ray, who returned it.

"Squirt," Lorgan turned to the youngest of the new recruit, thirteen year old Jamie Madrox, "You did a good job with scouting, but one of your . . . erm clones was nearly caught in Sector 3. I know you're trying to prove yourself, but like I told Costa, it's not a race. Quality over speed and as you all grow older, we'll expect both, but for now we just want you to do good work." The young boy nodded and fiddled with his gloves.

"Last but not least, Runt," Logan turned to Rahne and she smiled weakly, "You're performance was good, but when you opened the window, you made a lot of noise. You were lucky that the security guards didn't hear you." Rahne nodded as she leaned back against the wall.

"Despite all of these little things," Professor Xavier interrupted Logan as he rolled forward in his wheelchair, "Your performance as a group has improved immensely. I am quite proud of all of you." The students smiled.

"Helping take out a mutant hell bent on world domination helps too," Jamie spoke up causing Logan and the Professor to smile and laugh, though there was a certain severity to Xavier's; he usually did not approve when his students spoke in such ways.

"Yes Jamie," the professor said, "I suppose it does. You all are excused." There were sighs of relief as the students left the control room and made their ways to the locker rooms. The older girls of the New Recruits were chatting animatedly about some new store opening in the mall or something while Rahne and Cadence lagged behind and chatted quietly.

"I still don't understand what is so great about this 'mall' Rahne," Cadence confessed to her roommate and best friend, "I mean I've gone there and shopped, but I don't see the allure it holds for the others, especially Kitty. She never shuts up about it." Rahne shrugged.

"It be one o' the great mysteries in life," Rahne replied to her friend, "It ranks right up there wit' U.F.O.'s, Stonehenge, the pyramids, and why your dad never calls us by our proper names or code names." This caused the somber girl to laugh out right, a rare sound from the former assassin, which was becoming more and more frequent since she came to the institute.

"Definitely a mystery of the ages," Cadence replied as the two entered the locker room. Rahne wasted no time in peeling off the spandex suit and replacing it with her usual green top, comfortable jeans, and her green chucks. Cadence abandoned her usual black suit from her time in Hydra for a simple dark blue top, faded jeans, and sneakers. The girls left the locker room and chatted happily.

When Rahne had first been told that X-23 would be her roommate, she had been scared senseless. After she had moved in, Rahne realized that she was just searching for some degree of normalcy like the rest of the teenagers there. Her life had been anything but normal up to the point she joined the ranks of the institute, and Rahne helped her adjust to a semi normal teenage girl's life. Yes, every once in a while there were still those times when X-23 wished for nothing but to be left alone, but Rahne understood that and respected that, which was probably why they were now so close.

Despite Cadence's dark past, the two got along great and found that they had many things in common. Because of their mutations, they both had a certain "animal" like outlook on things and habits (such as sniffing the air and growling when angry). Rahne introduced Cadence to a teenage lifestyle that included cartoons, shopping, pizza, DDR, ice cream, and being social with other teens. In return, Cadence often sparred with Rahne and taught her about hand to hand combat thus improving her skills.

"So, we have the rest of the afternoon off," Cadence stated as they walked out of the locker room and over to the elevator, "what is the normal thing to do?" Rahne shrugged as the doors closed in front of them.

"We could go an' chat outside," Rahne offered up, "The weather is lovely and I t'ink that's where most de o'ders are." Cadence nodded and the two friends stepped off of the elevator and walked into the backyard. Rahne looked around and smiled. She had been correct in her assumption, and almost all of the teenagers and staff were outside. Rahne and Cadence sat beneath the shade of a large oak tree and both girls let out a sigh.

"Now what?" Cadence asked, "I feel this strange feeling. It feels like I should be doing something, but I don't know what. What is this?" Rahne smirked dryly.

"That me'dear is whot we call boredom," Rahne explained, "It's an epidemic that affects every teenager on de planet. No one is immune to it."

"Is there a cure?" Cadence asked with a slight edge of worry. She had never heard of this disease before, and the fact that she wasn't safe from it even with her healing factor . . .

"Finding something t'do," Rahne replied yawning, "Have ye ever people wotched before?" Cadence shook her head. "It's really simple. Ye wotch people. Observe their movements. Guess their thoughts."

"Like surveillance?" Cadence asked.

"Not quite, lassie," Rahne replied, "Wotchin' a person's actions tells y' a lot about their personality that words don't. For example . . ." Rahne pointed to Rogue and Remy, "those two. Now, Rogue claims that she despises Remy and 'as ever since the day 'e arrived on our doorstep since abandonin' the Acolytes. 'Er actions tell us differently. Do you see how?" Cadence stared at the couple.

Rogue was seated on a bench next to a picnic table with a leg on either side. Sitting on the same bench, in the same position was Remy LeBeau, except he was facing Rogue and attempting to talk to her. She appeared to be reading a book, but Cadence could tell with her heightened senses that she wasn't looking at the pages and her mouth was moving, meaning that she was talking back to him. Cadence voiced these observations to Rahne.

"Aye, but can you figure out whot it means?" Rahne baited her friend. Cadence furrowed her brow and continued staring at the two for a moment more. She had a feeling it had to do with emotions. She wasn't good with emotions, but this was practice.

"I think," she began unsure, "that she has feelings for him, but she doesn't want to admit it to herself or to him." Cadence closed her eyes and took a quick sniff of the air and Rahne looked at her before she continued, "I can smell fear and apprehension, and something sweet. I don't know what that is though."

"Infatuation, lust," Rahne offered up, "Who knows. That's whot's fun about people wotchin', you can make all sorts of guesses as to feelings and such wit'out causing anyone 'arm. Just a fun littol game me mum taught me." Cadence nodded and gave a half smirk.

"What about those guys over there?" she asked gesturing to Kurt, Bobby, and Jamie. The three of them were huddled around a piece of paper. They seemed to be arguing and laughing.

"Oh dear," Rahne smiled, "I think our resident pranksters are up ta no good. They're tryin' ta act casual, but they're doing a 'orrible job of it. They're probably attempting ta come up with some prank for your dad after 'e punished them for the last prank they pulled," the girls laughed, "Right, now for you. 'Ow 'bout those four over there?" Rahne pointed to Kitty, Jean, Scott, and Piotr who were playing a game of two on two basketball, boys versus girls.

"Why do you pick couples?" Cadence asked with a wry smile, "Scott and Jean are caught up in the game. I think they both have this secretive competitive streak and always want to prove themselves to be the best. Scott wants to be the best leader; Jean wants to be everybody's best friend. They have a comfort level that allows them to compete against each other but still have fun." They watched in silence as the four played some more.

"Kitty and Piotr are unsure," Cadence continued, "It's written all over their faces. Kitty and that rock guy are in a rough patch, and you can tell she's not focused on what she's doing because she has to keep allowing the ball to phase through her. Piotr is, well, new, he's not sure how to act at all. He presents himself as very straight and firm, almost rigid. He's been through a lot, and isn't sure if he should relax or if he even knows how." Rahne cocked her head to one side.

"Really?" she asked, "'ere I wos thinkin' that the lad fancied Kitty." Cadence suddenly got really rigid and began sniffing the air. "Whot? Whot is it?" Cadence looked to Rahne and smiled.

"Pizza's here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Logan was walking up the front steps arms laden with pizza boxes when he heard a twig snap. He stopped and tensed. He took a quick sniff, but the smell of the pizzas was currently overloading his nose. Shrugging, he continued up the steps when he heard two sets of feet run up past him and two hands snag a box of pizza off the top of the stack. Slightly bewildered and dazed he tilted his head to see around the boxes to see the retreating backs of two students sprint up the stairs and vanish towards the girls' dormitories.

"Kids," Logan grunted and continued with the rest of the pizzas towards the dining room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So whot kind did ye snag?" Rahne asked as she collapsed onto her bed. Cadence shrugged.

"Whatever was on top," She said as she set the box down on one of the desks. Rahne threw open the lid.

"Excellent!" she exclaimed grabbing two slices, "Meat lovers!" She began to wolf down one of her slices. Cadence rolled her eyes and grabbed her own slices. "'Ey, do ye think that yer dad will give us extra Danger Room sessions for snagging our own pizza?"

"I don't think so," Cadence responded, "He was probably surprised that we could sneak up on him." Rahne smiled as she took a large bite out of her pizza slice. Cadence nibbled on her own slice with less vigor than her friend.

"Whot's got yer knickers in a twist?" Rahne asked looking at her friend.

"Nothing," she responded a little too quickly. Rahne cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't believe you for a moment, lassie," she replied and Cadence let out a sigh.

"I don't want to invade your personal space," Cadence started, "but every night I see you pull out two pictures and some note and kiss one of the pictures good night, and I wasn't sure if that is normal behavior or not." Rahne blushed.

"Ye mean ta tell me 'at ye were awake all those times?" Rahne asked as her friend nodded, "Bugger. I might as well explain it ta ye." Rahne reached over to her bedside table drawer and pulled out a heavy parchment envelope. Cadence quickly moved from her bed to Rahne's and studied the three objects she pulled from the envelope. Cadence let out a gasp.

The pictures were moving.

"I know that isn't normal," Cadence said in shock as she looked at the pictures. Rahne laughed.

"Ye're telling me," Rahne smiled, "but these all are part of the mystery that surrounds me parents. See, I wos adopted, the parents that I grew up with weren't me real mum and dad," she held up the picture of a man and a woman happily holding each other, "These two be me real mum and dad. But I've never met 'em." Cadence took a closer look at the picture.

The woman looked remarkably like Rahne, or vice versa. She had the same semi-oval, semi-heart-shaped face as Rahne. Her hair was much the same color but was long and seemed to reach down to her waist. Her eyes were a dark brown color and her smile lit up her whole face. She was dressed in a strange looking dress that had a high collar and was a dark blue color. The man was twirling the woman about and he too had a large smile on his face. His light brown hair was longish and kind of shaggy looking. His face had an oval shape, but what Cadence noticed were his eyes. He had wide blue-green eyes, similar to Rahne's, but not a perfect match. What intrigued her so much about his eyes were that she could see there was a deep pain in them despite the happy atmosphere of the picture. Cadence continued looking at the two in the frame flirt and dance around for a few minutes more before turning the picture over.

"Remus and Liona Lupin, 1980," Cadence read aloud, "Have you tried . . ."

"Aye," Rahne interrupted, "I did an internet search. There were no matches atoll. I couldn't find the surname of Lupin in any of the genealogy search bases. As far as the British government is concerned, they did not exist."

"Lupin," Cadence said to herself, "Isn't that Latin for 'wolf'?"

"Aye," Rahne confirmed once more, "technically the Latin name is _canis_ _lupis_...but it is close. Fitting isn't it? The mutant known as Wolfsbane's real last name is Lupin. Rahne Lupin. If 'at isn't irony, I don't know wot is." Cadence looked at the second picture.

It was of four boys, they looked like they were in their late teens and they were lounging under a large tree, and there was a sprawling castle in the background. Cadence instantly recognized Rahne's father, but the other boys were new to her.

One boy had messy black hair and small round glasses he was smiling and playing with some small golden ball with wings. It would dart about in the air, and he would lash his hand out and snag it.

A second boy with black hair was casually reclined on one of the lower branches of the tree. He was very good looking and would occasionally drop twigs down on the other boys causing them to glare up at him in anger.

The third boy was small, round, and had beady little eyes. Even though it was a picture, Cadence didn't like the look of him. The way he kept glancing around and seeming to hero worship the boy catching the ball caused Cadence to tense up.

"I don't like him," she said pointing to the offending boy, "he doesn't seem to fit with the others," she carefully turned the picture over, "'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Hogwarts 1978'. What's Hogwarts?"

"Beats me," Rahne sulked as she sat back on her bed. Cadence opened up the note.

"There's nothing on here," she said turning the thick piece of parchment over in her hands. Rahne nodded with a defeated attitude. "Have you talked to the professor?" Cadence asked, "Maybe your dad or mom is a mutant and he has them in the database." Rahne shrugged half-heartedly.

"I don't know," Rahne began, "I always figured 'at they gave me away for a reason and never really questioned it. They may never want ta see me."

"Don't tell yourself that!" Cadence said getting angry, "Rahne you have a past that is out there waiting for you to discover it. Trust me; I speak from experience when I say that not having a family is the worst thing ever. They obviously want to see you again because they left you these things as clues to help you find them again." A small smile spread across Rahne's face.

"I guess you're rioght," Rahne said brightly, "I may talk to the Professor about it in the morning." Cadence patted Rahne on the back, "Thanks X."

"No problem," the other girl replied, "We'll find your mother and father, even if we have to knock on every single door in the country." Rahne laughed. It was not like she had never thought about finding her parents before...she had just never really had anyone else who had been egging her on in such a way. Really...it was somewhat nice.

"Better watch out, mum and dad," Rahne continued to laugh, "because we're goin' ta find ye whether ye like it or not!"


	2. Power Trip

**A/N:** This installment of LoL was written by the one, the only, the fabulous Jinxeh. She did an awesome job with this chapter kids, so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much for all of the reviews we're really glad that you guys are lovin' the story!

* * *

Chapter 2: Power Trip

The first thing that Rahne saw the next morning when she opened her eyes was a pair of dark brown eyes looking right back down at her from less than three inches away. Although she should have been used to this by now, it still took her off-guard and she screamed, causing the person leaning over her to suddenly stumble away backwards as she herself rolled off of the side of the bed and landed on her back on the floor with a thump.

"Cadence!" the Scottish girl shrieked, pushing herself up to a sitting position with a scowl, her red hair hanging in her eyes…and just about everywhere else over her face and head as well. She had always been a horrible bed-head, for as long as she could have remembered. "'Ow many times do I hafta tell ye tae stop _doin'_ that?"

"I am sorry, Rahne," the other girl said with a small shrug as she picked herself up off of the floor and brushed herself off. She was not even in her pajamas anymore, but had exchanged them for a light green t-shirt and light blue khakis with pull-on flat tennis shoes. "But I have been waiting for you to wake up for fifteen minutes by now."

"Aye, but I tol' ye not ta just _stare_ at me like that anymore!" protested the redhead, finally picking herself up off of the floor and sitting herself on the edge of her bed, her tired head in her hands. "It's creepy! S'like somethin' a serial killer would do!"

"Serial killer?"

"Never mind…" Rahne said with a sigh, finally pushing herself off of the bed and standing on her own two feet as she yawned and stretched her arms. "Ugh…what time s'it, then?"

"Almost eight."

"What?" Rahne suddenly shrieked in outrage, then shaking her head and hopping back into her bed, promptly pulling the covers over her head. "Nuh-uh! Dere's no way I'm getting' up on a Saturday dis early!" her muffled voice was heard to say from under the covers.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe I'm up dis' early on a Saturday…" Rahne muttered dejectedly to herself that morning at breakfast, glaring across the table at her roommate who chose to ignore her, wisely enough. She was too busy tearing into a sausage patty like it was a rabbit anyways, so it wasn't like it mattered.

"Oh yes," Jubilee said with a giggle, sitting next to Cadence on the other side of the table, across from Rahne. "Goodness forbid you get up before noon on a Saturday…"

"Bite me, 'firecracker'," Rahne growled, only succeeding in making the girl snicker some more. At the other end of the table, where he had been conversing quietly with Jean and Scott, Xavier suddenly gave the Scottish girl a warning glance, to which she smiled cheerily and waved at before returning to her cereal.

"So, anyone got any plans for today?" Sam asked with a mouthful of eggs and cheese, spitting the contents all over Amara, who shrieked in response, batting him away with a hand as she turned her head in the other direction to avoid the barrage of scrambled eggs upon her darkly-tanned face.

"Yes, Rahne had said something about going to this…mall…today," Cadence said with a slight frown. She was just beginning to understand what a mall was, but she was still having trouble with understanding why it was that the girls could never wait to go, while the boys would drag their feet and have to be forced to.

Just as she predicted, Sam began to mock-gag, pretending to choke on his eggs. Amara glared at him.

"Good," she said acidly. "Do us a favor and keep doing that. Maybe we'll get lucky and you'll _really_ suffocate…"

"Oh, be nice," Rahne said with a sigh. "We aren't 'at lucky, anyways…but does tha mall sound good t'ya guys?"

"Fine, as long as Sam isn't the one who drives us," Jubilee said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I still remember when he ran into that parking meter," Amara said with a sigh as she rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "I still have whiplash from that incident…"

"You do _not_!" the boy protested, spraying even more eggs on Amara, who turned to him and glared with such ferocity that most people who would have seen that would have dove under the table by that time. He gulped, and then grinned at her weakly.

"Well…maybe I could have been a _little_ more careful…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't understand…" Cadence said with a frown, crossing her arms and looking at the display cases in the windows of the shops that they passed as they walked through the main midway of the mall. "Why do many of these…mannequins…only have some of their original limbs?"

She was referring to the display models behind the glass windows of the shops, several of which were missing their heads, while others were no more than torsos attached to metal rods, all of which were wearing scantily revealing clothing that most girls their ages would have never worn anyways, much less have even considered to buy in the first place.

"Oh…well…y'know, I've often wondered about that meself, actually," Rahne said with a frown, as they stopped in front of a particularly frightening display case in front of American Eagle. "Maybe the store couldn't afford the other limbs?" she suggested with a grin. Jubilee, who was the only other girl with the two other young mutants, began to snicker loudly.

"And why do they wear clothing like that?" Cadence asked, narrowing her eyes at one of the models, a full-sized one with all of its limbs (although it was bald), who was wearing a denim miniskirt, high black boots, and a midriff that looked like it would be better suited as a sports bra instead, seeing how much skin it would show for any girl who would have chanced to wear it. "We do not wear such clothing, so why do they show some like this?"

Rahne had to say, the strange other mutant girl did have a valid point with her comment. Cadence was still wearing her clothing that she had been in when she had woken Rahne up that morning. Jubilee was wearing dark jeans with a light violet t-shirt with, of course, her bright yellow jacket over it, along with her own high brown boots that she had her jeans tucked into. Rahne herself wore a green t-shirt and light blue denim jeans with simple white tennis shoes. Her red hair had been pulled into low pigtails, to keep it out of her eyes.

"Because," Jubilee said with a sigh. "Some girls have almost no self-esteem and so they have to wear clothing like that to attract the attention of boys who will give them all the attention they so desire…"

Rahne and Cadence just stared at her, and she shrugged with a small grin upon her lips.

"Sorry, I've been watching too many after-school specials again…" Jubilee said with a sigh as they started off again. "And _way_ too much from the Lifetime network…"

"It shows," Rahne said sadly as they walked past even more stores. At the moment they were not stopping at any, because they had a different mission that they were trying to complete. They had come to the mall in a group of seven, but now it was just them as three, while Bobby, Amara, Sam, and Ray were off somewhere else. They were trying to find them, afraid by now that the other teenagers had gotten into trouble, as they had that tendency to do when out in public places.

Fortunately for them, they did not have to search very far, for no sooner had they passed the Hot Topic store than the four mutant teenagers ran out after them, yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs. As the other three turned around and gaped, all four ran out past them while an older man clad in black, no doubt either a clerk or the manager, ran out after them.

"Stupid kids!" he shouted after them, as Rahne, Cadence, and Jubilee watched them run down past the other shops, still laughing and yelling. "Don't you come back in here!" he bellowed after them before turning on his heels and storming back into his beloved store.

"Oh no…" Rahne moaned as Jubilee grabbed onto her hand and started running with her after the others. Cadence, blinking in confusion, followed after them at a more leisurely pace, hardly going any quicker than she would have at a walk. She did not sense anything was really wrong, so she did not feel that she needed to be alarmed about it. She had a feeling that if the other kids were in serious trouble they would not have been laughing as they had run past.

"Sam! Ray!" Jubilee shouted as she dragged Rahne along after her down the center of the mall. Somehow, the other teenagers had disappeared from their sights. "Bobby! Amar-AH!" she shouted as she ran past the bathrooms and was suddenly grabbed by the arm and yanked inside. Since Jubilee was still holding on to Rahne, she was taken in too.

"Keep your voice down!" Amara giggled as she let go of her friends arm and plopped herself down on one of the metal benches sitting outside the doors leading into the actual bathrooms. "We don't want that guy to find us!"

"He won't. He went back into the store," Jubilee said with a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms as she glanced around the others. Rahne simply rolled her eyes and leaned against the lockers that were built into the walls with the shake of her head. She really should have been used to the behavior of the other New Mutants but they still struck her as odd most of the time… "Now, what'd you do?"

"We didn't do anything!" Ray protested, putting up his hands as if being told to do so by the police. "Honest!"

"Ray!"

"Okay, so we knocked over a clothing rack," he admitted. He never was able to fool that girl…sometimes he thought that her mutant ability just might have been that of telepathy instead of her fireworks.

"It was an accident," Bobby assured her. "But the guy went off the deep end anyways. We were just fooling around, and Sam accidentally fell backwards into it and knocked it over."

"What kind of clothing rack?" Jubilee said with a grin which Sam most definitely matched, and then intensified.

"Well…" he began with a wicked smile and glinting eyes. "Y'know all of that freaky lingerie they got in the back…?"

"_Eww_!" Rahne and Jubilee said in unison, each laughing despite the revulsion that was clearly seen upon their faces. Somehow, they really did not surprise them. Jubilee found herself wondering if perhaps Sam had knocked into it by accident after all in the first place…

"It _was_ an accident," Sam said with a wink. "Ah mean it, it really was…"

"Yeah, sure," Jubilee snickered, looking around at the gleeful faces of her fellow mutant partners in crime. But then she noticed…one of them was missing. "Hey, where's Cadence?"

"She was walkin' as you were runnin' and I was…bein' dragged along," Rahne said tiredly. "She should still be out there, though…" and with that she brushed past Jubilee and then peeked her head around the corner into the main center-way for the mall, looking around for her missing friend.

"Well if you see her, tell her to hurry up," Bobby said impatiently, checking his watch. "I want to get some lunch; I'm starving!"

"Bobby, you just ate a pretzel and had a milkshake," Amara said in disbelief, punching the boy playfully on his shoulder. "How can you still be hungry?"

"Hey, a guy's gotta eat…Rahne, what's up?" he asked in sudden concern, glancing towards the redhead as he noticed that her face was somewhat pale as she glanced around the corner of the small hallway.

"Cadence," she said with a sudden growl, ducking out of the hallway as her friends stared.

"Rahne, wait!" Amara protested, going out after her to make sure that everything was all right. The others waited a moment to see if they would come back and when they didn't, they all jumped up and ran after them. When they skidded to a halt in the middle of the midway, they all saw exactly why it was that Rahne had been so pale. Cadence was indeed in a spot of trouble.

She was standing a few stores down, in front of the Borders book store, and with her stood three boys that looked to be at least eighteen, maybe nineteen years of age. She was fairly much blocked in by them, one standing in front of her, while she had one behind her and to the left, and the other behind her and to the right. The one in front of her was talking to her with a grin on his face, while his two friends had their arms crossed, each repetitively glancing at one another with matching smirks.

"C'mon girlie…I just ask for your name," said the leader boy. He had brown hair that went to his shoulders and a matching scruffy goatee. His jeans were ripped, his green t-shirt had holes in them, and his black work boots were falling apart…no, he definitely was not the sort of boy that Cadence could have understood easily, and that made the situation dangerous. Well…for him, anyways. "There was no need to growl at me just because I asked for your _name_, right?"

"Cadence…c'mon, lassie," Rahne said nervously, coming up behind the two boys standing behind the girl. "Let's just go, all right?"

At her question, the grungy-looking boy glanced back at her in interest before looking back at the first girl with a malevolent smirk on his unshaven and noticeably dirty face.

"Hey, where's your friend from?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Ireland?"

"That is none of your business!" Cadence spat as her small hands clenched themselves into fists, causing Rahne's eyes to widen considerably. The stance that her friend was currently standing in was one that she often used in the Danger Room when preparing to fight. She felt like she would, at any second, have her two shiny metal claws slide out of her knuckles as she prepared to strike.

If that happened, it would be her, Rahne's, fault. Before they had all left for the mall, Logan had personally taken her aside and told her to watch Cadence carefully and make sure that nothing like this would happened. Cadence was improving rapidly from the way she had behaved when she had first come to the Institute, but that did not mean that she was completely in control of her own anger at times.

"Cadence, come _on_!" Jubilee called from her spot, standing on the other side of one of the benches about ten feet away, just in case. She was soon joined by the others; all of them knew exactly what the other girl was capable of doing when she was angry, and they didn't want to get in the middle of all of that.

"No, I don't think so," said one of the other boys, this one clean-shaven but with grizzled blonde hair that didn't look like he ever washed it. "See, we're not done with her yet, okay?"

"_Go away_," Cadence said, adding a low growl at the end, which made all of the boys suddenly howl in laughter. To them it was downright hilarious to see such a small and, apparently, harmless girl growling at them like she was some sort of wild and untamed animal. Inside her head, she was counting to ten slowly like her father had taught her so she wouldn't explode. That particular trick did not always work, but it was better than nothing.

"Lookit this!" the third, and last, boy said between guffaws. "What does she think she is; some sort of _zoo_ animal?"

"Cadence!" Rahne hissed, motioning to the other girl furiously as she looked over her shoulder to her redheaded friend. "C'mon, now! They ain't worth it, y'know!"

"Whoohoo!" the head boy said with raised eyebrows and his hands on his hips in an effort to look like he had been horribly offended. "Didja hear _that_? I think I'm offended!"

"He's got a lot more than that comment offending him," Bobby muttered darkly under his breath, though he said it without a smile or his trademark grin. This was a serious situation, and he knew it. They all did. None of them wanted this go any farther; there was a certain limit to how much annoyance that Cadence could take before she snapped.

"Jus' leave us alone, will ya?" Rahne snapped at the boy, meanwhile glancing to Cadence in fear as though expecting her to suddenly lunge for the boy's throat at any second. "We didn' do nothin' to ya, so just leave us be, boyo!"

"Boyo?" he repeated with a snigger. "Aw, you're almost as funny as your little animal friend here!" he said as his friends laughed. In desperation, Rahne glanced around the mall for a security guard or store manager who might have seen the fight, but there was no one who could have intervened, saving Rahne some trouble for what she was getting ready to do. There were some shoppers that had stopped near the store doorways and were watching, but it did not seem like any of them were willing to help, being content to just watch.

Rahne sighed and then closed her eyes; she knew what she had to do. No, that did not mean that she actually wanted to use her mutant abilities to bend the situation to their own advantage, but it was better for her to show her abilities in attempt to scare away the boys rather than have her other friend let go of Cadence and jump right in to being X-23 instead. Rahne unleashing her wolfish side beat Cadence stabbing some unsuspecting and rowdy teenagers with her claws by far.

A moment later she felt it begin; her insides churned just slightly as her body suddenly became thinner and…furrier. Her bones stretched themselves, making her both more gangly and much taller, her nose and mouth lengthened and formed into a snout; her teeth elongated and became sharp and curved, her fingernails were suddenly pointed and sharp; reddish-brown fur sprouted along her lower arms and sides of her cheeks and newly-formed snout. She winced visibly as her toes suddenly became cramped; having expanded inside of her shoes and then suddenly burst forth through the white leather, furry and with sharp claws on their ends.

The leader boy had yet to look to her, and since his friends had their backs to her none of them saw her in her strange half-wolf half-girl form. However, many of the shoppers had, and so it was they who began to scream and shout at the sight of her, and that was what made the boys look back at her with widened eyes. The second the two other boys saw her they both shouted and jumped away, practically hiding behind their other friend, who stood rooted to the spot.

Cadence turned and grinned at Rahne, though she was perhaps a bit grateful that she had stepped up to the plate. She really didn't want to have to explain to her father why it was that she had stabbed three stupid boys at the local mall, after all.

"Bye now!" Rahne said with another forced grin; forced because it was difficult to do with her new mouth. Her voice was also somewhat muffled, and seemed to be mixed in with a low sort of growl. Still, it was apparent that the boys understood her quite well.

"She's a mutie!" the blonde shouted in a panic as Cadence went and stood next to her wolfish friend. She had been about to say something, but as soon as the word "mutie" had been said she suddenly tensed and turned to glare at him.

"_What_ did you just call her?" she demanded in a harsh sort of growl, two long and shiny claws sliding out from her left hand with a distinct _snikt_, which she held in front of her face, as she did. "Did you just call her a _mutie_?"

"They both are!" the other lackey gulped, pushing his friend away so he could hide fully behind his known 'leader'. Unfortunately for the girls, however, he did not seem to be afraid of them anymore. Instead, he was looking down at them with wide eyes, and a strange expression on his face. "Bet they're from that _freak_ school, too!"

"Rahne! Cadence!" Amara hissed, gesturing to them furiously. "Let's go before someone calls the _police_!"

"Don't let the muties get away!" the main boy suddenly shouted. Before either girl knew what was going on he had pulled a butterfly knife from one of his pockets and had flipped it open. He had it in front of himself at an awkward angle, looking ready to slash at both of the girls. Now his lackeys were grinning, knowing what was coming next. He did not even care about the sudden gasps that had occurred when he had pulled out the knife from the other shoppers.

"Cadence, I think it's time we go," Rahne said, issuing a low growl along with it, making the boy with the knife back away a step. Her friend was not listening; rather, she was glaring at the knife as though to blame it for all of the wrong in her life. "Cadence!"

With a jolt, Cadence seemed to come out of her reverie, looking up to Rahne with blinking and wide eyes. Finally, she nodded, and as if on cue they both turned and began to run to their friends. When they reached the bench they kept on running and hurdled over it, the other teenagers having joined them as they had gone to pass.

"Hey!" the boy with the knife shouted angrily. "Stupid muties! Get back here!"

"Dude, he's chasing us!" Ray shouted in a panic as the most of them vaulted over another bench as they ran down the midway towards the end of the mall, where they could escape to an outside parking lot. Hearing this, Bobby raised one hand in front of himself and then suddenly swung it backwards as he did not even falter in his run. Instantly a stream of ice issued forth from his fingers, hitting the floor and forming an instantly frozen surface. The moment the boys chasing them ran upon it, all three slipped and fell back onto their rears. The knife flew from the one boy's hand and he screamed in rage as he struggled to get up, but just kept sliding right back down again.

"Good goin', Popsicle!" Amara shouted sarcastically as they burst through the glass front doors, luckily not breaking them seeing as how fast they had been running, and then heading straight out for Sam's jeep. "You'd better hope you didn't hurt any of them or else we're in _big_ trouble!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I didn't think they'd be able to catch up to us that quickly!" Jubilee panted, jumping down from the jeep that Sam had parked right in front of the steps and running up the stairs. The other kids followed suit; including Sam, who shoved his keys into his jeans pocket before jumping out. Luckily, Rahne and Cadence had jumped out of the jeep when he had stopped it briefly, and they had closed the gates before the boys, in their Cadillac, could reach them. They had been about a half-mile down the road at the time. Now that the jeep was parked, they were at the gate and out of the car, taking sticks they had found by the road and banging them up against the metal gate.

No one had really expected the boys to follow them all the way out of the mall, never mind actually chasing them all of the way to their very own school. Now that they had, however, there was only one thing to do. This was not, after all, the first time something like this had happened with the mutant children living at the school.

"Mr. Logan!" Rahne called out in a panic, running into the school and across the lobby with Cadence right at her heels. "Mr. Logan! We need some _help_ here!"

"What did you do?" was his automatic reply from the rec room. A moment later he had appeared from the doorway as the other kids ran into the lobby, all panting heavily from their anxiety and their run. "Oh no…not again."

"Yes, again," Bobby said with his tongue hanging out, falling to the ground and lying there on his back, breathing heavily. "But this time it wasn't my fault!"

"They started chasing us at the mall," Amara said with a nod, sinking slowly to the floor and sitting their, very dignified, though she was breathing heavily as well. "We tried to lose them, but it didn't work. They're at the gates."

"Wait here," he said with a growl, walking past the kids and out through the glass double doors. No one even turned around to watch him walk down the driveway towards the gates; they'd all seen him frightening away various anti-mutant idiots before. It got old after a while.

"Again?" asked Professor Xavier, rolling in from down the hallway. It was obvious he had known about the idiotic human boys for a small while judging from the tired look on his face. He was a psychic, after all. The teenagers all nodded in answer, their eyes down on the floor and nothing else. It wasn't their fault really, but it was something that had to be taken seriously. "I see," he said with a shake of his head.

They waited patiently for Logan to return which, after only a couple of minutes, he did so rather smugly. As Rahne glanced out of one of the tall windows she did not even see the boy's car out by the gate. Apparently Logan's method for chasing off idiotic teenaged boys was very effective, then.

"They're gone," he said unnecessarily, and then stopping in front of the small group with his arms crossed, a glare on his face. "Now…who let their powers slip up?"

It was something that was easy to tell. There was no way that those boys would have been chasing them for such a distance if they had not somehow found out that they were all mutants. For a hesitant moment none of them spoke, unwilling to get anyone else in trouble. It was Cadence that had been the main target of the boys, but she had only unsheathed a pair of her claws after Rahne had reverted to her half-wolf form, and Bobby had created the icy spot after all of that.

"Me," Rahne finally admitted, raising one hand weakly and trying her best to grin at her teacher, though he did not return the gesture. She quickly got rid of her smile and then cleared her throat before speaking. "I'm sorry Mr. Logan…we were at de mall, an' Cadence wos bein' harassed by those idiots, an' I didn't want 'er to accidentally let 'er claws slip out," she said meekly. "I thought if I just used me powers a _wee_ bit, that it wouldn't do any harm…"

"Yeah, but they freaked out instead," Jubilee said with a sigh. "And so we tried to run…"

"I did use my metal claws, but I did not harm anyone," Cadence said solemnly, her head bowed as she looked remorseful.

"And then I made them slip with my powers," Bobby added, raising his hand as Rahne had. "But none of us were trying to hurt them…we were just trying to scare them away from us, is all…"

"That's no excuse!" Logan barked at them severely, making them all, with the exception of a still sad-seeming Cadence, flinch just a bit. "Other kids can get by in those positions without their powers! Just because you have the powers don't mean you gotta use 'em!"

"Yeah, but these guys were gettin' ready to beat Cadence down!" Sam said sourly. "It was either let Rahne try to scare them off, or have Cadence dice 'em!" he protested, to which the girl simply shrugged in answer to. She was certainly not about to deny it. Logan, however, was not exactly thrilled to hear this.

"You know, you _all_-" he began, about to chew them out something good before Professor Xavier swiftly and calmly cut him off in mid-sentence.

"Logan…they've learned their lesson by now," he said calmly, folding his hands together in his lap. "They've had to deal with such situations before; they know what to expect."

"Yeah, so get ready to see twenty anti-mutant, sign-carrying, protestors at the front gates by sundown," Sam mumbled to himself under his breath. He was not kidding, either. News happened to travel quickly through Bayville when it had anything to do with the Xavier Institute students, and when it did most of the residents did not take too kindly to it.

"Great," Jubilee said between gritted teeth. "Now I'll never get any sleep tonight…"

"Actually," Xavier cut in once again quite smoothly (that happened to be a useful talent of his) "Perhaps there is something else we can do for that," he said with a smile. He had actually been thinking about doing the exact thing he was about to tell them ever since he had learned of his business trip, but until this time he had not exactly had a solid reason for the New Mutants to come along with him besides calling it a 'field trip' of sorts.

"Maybe what you all need is some time away from the school, and away from Bayville, after all…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe we get ta go ta London!" Rahne said in excitement as she pulled out the top drawer to her wooden dresser and pulled all of the contents therein out, then throwing them onto her bed. "This is going ta be wonderful!"

"I've never been to London…" Cadence said, though she was frowning as she did. Hydra had sent her on missions before but had never told her the name of the places she was to be going to, so if she had ever been to London before then she had not known about it. Her suitcase, a small black one, was already packed with the bare essentials; her changes of clothing, a hairbrush, and various other knickknacks that one would usually find in an ordinary bathroom. She had no need to pack any game systems or CDs, for she had none. She had never found use for them in order to survive, so she had never thought them to be of importance.

"Nor have I! But I'm sure it'll be great, just ye wait lassie!"

"Why do you call me that name?" Cadence asked with somewhat narrowed eyes. She was sitting on the edge her bed, her hands behind her holding her up as she leaned back on the bedcovers. She had been meaning to ask her roommate this for quite some time, but never had because of what had been referred to as 'courtesy', which her father had somewhat leniently taught her about.

"Wot name?" her roommate asked in confusion, looking up at her with a shirt in her hands. "Oh! Ye mean lassie?"

"Yes, that name," the other girl said with a small nod. "I thought that it was decided that I would be Cadence?"

"Ye _are_ Cadence," Rahne said with a sigh and a shake of the head as she shoved her shirt unceremoniously into her suitcase. "That's just a…er…nickname, I s'ppose. If ye were a boy, I'd be callin' ye a laddie instead."

"But why?"

"I dunno…that's just wot I do," the redhead said with a shrug. "Got all of me clothes, now…ah…"

She turned to see Cadence still sitting on the edge of her bed, only then she had taken the photographs from where Rahne had put them on her nightstand and was holding them in her hands, observing them carefully.

"What're ye doin'?" she asked nervously, wringing her hands together. She didn't like it when Cadence was holding her photos. The other night she had shown them to the girl simply because she had asked, but now…

"Didn't you say that you were going to find them?" Cadence asked suddenly, looking back up to her friend with a raised eyebrow. "That is what you said last night, right?"

"Well…yes," Rahne said softly, sitting down on the edge of her own bed, her hands still clasping one another in her lap. "But…t'was a spur-of-the-moment sorta thing…I could never find 'em on my own, now…"

"Yes you could," her friend said stubbornly. "You said that they were in London, right?"

"Yes…but-"

"And we are _going_ to London, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"So why do you not try to find them?"

Rahne did not even attempt to break into the somewhat one-sided conversation, and settled for shaking her head in dismay. This girl just did not get it, she really didn't…it had been easy for her to locate her own 'father' (and even engage him in a fight) but with Rahne, it was different. She did not know what she could have found that would have led her to her parents. All she had were those two photos and that stupid blank piece of parchment, after all…

"It's not that easy," she said finally, taking the photos gently from Cadence's hands and looking them over with saddened eyes. "I wouldn't even know where to start looking…"

"London's as good a place as any to start," Cadence said with a shrug. "And it happens to be where we are going; both the New Mutants and some of the others…"

"Maybe…" Rahne said doubtfully. Every second that passed, she grew a little more doubtful that she was right while Cadence was wrong. Well…so perhaps that girl did get it, at least partway. "I mean…we are _going_ to London…"

"So you can find them there!" Cadence said with a small smile. "It will be easy…they have these record library places all around…you could research their names there!"

"Hey…maybe I could," said the redhead, brightening slightly. She had always imagined herself someday searching for her parents, but had always assumed that she would at an older age, maybe after she had graduated. But now…since she was already about to embark to the lands in which she knew she had to start her search, she figured that just then was as good a time as ever. "You know what? I _know_ I could!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was nighttime, and also way past the curfew that Logan had set up that night for the students who were leaving for London the next morning. Their room was dark, their suitcases were packed and waiting for them to take downstairs in the morning, resting against the wall by the door, but still Rahne could not sleep.

Although unsure if Cadence was asleep at the moment (if she ever slept at all…Rahne had often wondered about that) she did not care. The girl already knew about the photos, so there was no reason to hide them anymore. At the moment she was lying on her back, a beam on moonlight hitting her from the window above her head and illuminating her there. She held one of her pictures near her stomach, tilted up so she could see it better as the light struck it.

They were always like that in her picture; always seemingly happy. Always twirling each other around, always laughing as though they knew something that she did not. Although her father did indeed always have a somewhat…haunted…expression upon his face, he still did his best to look cheerful. She wished that, just once, they would look up to her and smile right at her and mean it. She knew that it was just a photo…it wouldn't mean anything if they did.

But maybe someday it would. Maybe if she really went to London…and really found her parents…maybe she would finally get the chance to talk to them, to look at them…to know that they were right there, with her. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask them; why did they give her up in the first place; how did the photos move; were they mutants as well? If she could just find them she'd know the answers to her question…

But she had faith that soon she would. Right there in the pale moonlight, she smiled longingly at the picture once before putting it on her nightstand, next to her alarm clock and by the other photo, and the parchment. She turned on her side and sighed deeply, closing her eyes tightly as she prepared to drift off to sleep.

"I'm gonna find ya, mum an' da'," she whispered. "And I'm not jus' sayin' it this time. This time, I mean it. I'm gonna find ya…"


	3. Destination: London

**A/N:** For future refernece, all of the even chapters are written Jinxeh and all of the odd chapters are written by yours truely. I just sent Jinxeh Chapter 11 so she could get started on Chapter 12, so this story is moving right along. Also as to the pronunciation of Rahne's name: I'm pretty sure it sounds like 'rain' and is pronounced like that. If anyone else know differently, please feel free to correct me in a review. 

Enjoy! Alexis

* * *

Chapter 3: Destination: London

Rahne was up before the crack of dawn the next morning and had already brought all her bags down in addition to being cleaned-up, dressed, and ready to go. Unfortunately her teammates were slightly less enthusiastic about the trip than she was. She was sitting in the kitchen munching on some dry Cheerios as the rest of the students going on the trip filed sleepily into the kitchen around seven 'o' clock. The others eyed her warily as she oozed excitement.

"Rahne," Jubilee said soothingly, "calm down. You're a little bit too excited about this trip."

"I 'ave every rioght ta be excited," Rahne protested as she continued to pop Cheerios into her mouth like they were candy, "I'll finally be gettin' out of this loony town and all it's mutant 'ating glory, what's more I be almost going back ta me home. People are much saner in the isles. Ye bloody Yanks." Everybody in the kitchen collectively rolled their eyes.

"We've, like, heard this all before, Rahne," Kitty Pryde sighed as she phased through Bobby to get an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Yeah," piped up Bobby, "Ye crazy Brit." He attempted to mock Rahne's accent but failed miserably.

"Scot," Rahne replied instantly, "I'm _Scottish_, and I don' mean I act like ole' one-eye either. By de way, you're occent is completely wrong. We don't sey 'yeah' we sey 'aye'." This got a few snickers from the other students and Bobby turned a lovely pink color.

"Why is everyone laughing?" Cadence asked as she sauntered into the kitchen with Logan behind her. The two were in sweats, apparently just having finished a Danger Room session.

"Rahne vas giving Bobby a much needed lezzon on zhe finer points of talkink vith un accent," Kurt supplied as he grabbed two silver packets of Pop Tarts. Cadence nodded and then stared directly at her friend with an unwavering look.

"You are not backing out," it was a statement as opposed to a question, almost a command considering the tone of voice Cadence used to deliver the line. Many of the students looked between the two friends, and even the teachers exchanged a confused glace as they watched to two interact.

"O' course not," Rahne replied, "I'll find dem. Ye were right, Cadence, the past is far too important ta not go 'unting for." The girls exchanges smiles and Cadence turned her attention to the strips bacon that were in front of her and Rahne left the kitchen.

"Who is Rahne trahing ta find?" Rogue asked Cadence after the younger girl had left.

"Her parents," Cadence answered without looking up. This caused several of the staff and students to stare in surprise.

"Remy t'ought de p'tite already had a set of dem," Gambit said as he snatched a Pop Tart from Kurt who was about to take a bite of it.

"They're her adoptive parents," Cadence responded, "Apparently she was left on their doorstep when she was small."

"That's like horrible," Kitty cried, "and she wants to like find these people that just left her?" Cadence shrugged.

"Kitty," Jean cautioned, "while I admit that it's not the best plan, maybe they had a good reason like they were unable to care for her."

"Ja, Keety," Kurt interrupted while he glared at Gambit for taking his food, "Remember my mozer 'accidentally' dropped me over a vaterfall. I vould rather have zhe parents I did zhan her. Zhere could be any number of reasons."

"I don't think her parents wanted to abandon her," Cadence spoke up after listening with mounting aggravation to the other speculate about her friend's parents, "They left her with things that she could use to find them. I think something happened to them that put them in danger and they wanted to make sure she was safe." Everyone was listening keenly to the girl now.

"What types of things?" Ororo asked as she absentmindedly stirred her tea. Once again Cadence gave a little shrug.

"A couple of pictures and a note," she replied giving half-truths. She figured that the others would be freaked out if she had said moving pictures and a note with no words on it, "there were a couple of names too, but Rahne already searched the internet for them with no luck." Suddenly Cadence felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach; it was foreign yet oddly familiar.

She suddenly realized it was guilt. She was sharing something secret. What's more, it was someone else's secret. Cadence realized with a wince that she shouldn't have said anything at all. It was Rahne secret, and if she wanted to share it with the rest of the people at the school, it was her right, and her right alone, to do so.

"I'm sorry," she said allowing the guilt to take over, "I shouldn't have said anything. If Rahne had wanted you all to know she would have told you. I will say no more." She stood without another word, and without finishing her meal, and left the kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

At around eight-thirty, all of the students going on the trip to London had grabbed their bags and loaded onto the Blackbird. Hank was staying at the Institute to watch over things on the home front. Other than him, everyone else was going on the trip.

Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue were talking about visiting all the historical sights and checking out some of London's more trendy haunts. Scott and Jean were shamelessly flirting with each other while Remy was desperately attempting to do the same with Rogue and talk her into going out on a date. Piotr watched on in silence and shook his head. Sam, Bobby, Ray, Roberto, and Jamie were all talking about pulling pranks in the hotel. Amara and Jubilee were whispering excitedly about British guys. Rahne and Cadence sat off to one side and observed the others.

"Do you have any ideas of where to start?" Cadence asked as she strapped herself into her seat. Rahne copied her movements.

"Aye," the girl replied with confidence pulling a piece of paper from her back pocket, "There are a few places I found on the internet that 'aven't got all of their records on an internet database yet. Me first stop is the Family Record Centre in London. If I can't find a thing there, me next stop is the Public Records Office which is right outside of London in Surrey."

"What if you can't find anything at either of those places?" Cadence asked as she looked over the addresses.

"Then me last ditch effort would be The British Library in London," Rahne replied as she folded up the paper again and put it back in her pocket, "There is another place I could go, but it's in Kent which is quite the ways from London, and I think Logan and Ms. Munroe would notice that I was gone." Cadence nodded as the jet began to taxi towards the runway that was hidden by a waterfall.

Once the plane had taken off, Rahne grabbed her messenger bag and pulled out a notebook and a pen. She also pulled out her two pictures and studied the backs. After looking them over for a moment, she opened her notebook and began taking notes. Cadence casually looked over her friend's shoulder to see what she was writing.

**Ideas for searches:**

**Remus Lupin  
Liona Lupin  
Liona ?  
Marriage certificates for 1978-1981  
Hogwarts (Private Institution/Boarding School?)  
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs ?**

Rahne's pen was still for a moment as she tried to come up with any other ideas from the pictures. She looked in the back grounds for any clues, any landmarks or signs. She came up with nothing, other than a sprawling castle in the background. Her pen began moving again.

**Castles that are used as schools in UK  
Small flying golden ball? Possibly some game?**

Rahne sighed as she tucked the pictures away, knowing that she couldn't get anymore information from them. Cautiously she pulled out the blank parchment and stared at it. There was, as there had been every other time she looked at it, absolutely nothing on it. No watermark, no heading, no eraser marks, no pencil, no ink, nothing. It was just a blank piece of parchment as it had been every other time she looked at it.

**Places that sell parchment?**

Even as she wrote the words, she knew that that particular bit of information would be to generic and broad. She turned the paper over in her hands.

"Show me anything," Rahne pleaded in a whisper, "I'll take just about anything at this point in time." Still there was nothing on the paper, and now several of her teammates were staring at her strangely.

"Are you alright Rahne?" Jubilee asked from beside her and Rahne nodded in reply.

"Just frustrated," she growled as she glared at the piece of paper in her lap. She let out a sigh and tried rubbing the paper, creating friction heat. Maybe the writer had used invisible ink, but nothing showed up. Rahne chewed on the end of the pen she had been using and glared at the paper with ferocity. She threw her pen down in aggravation on the paper, leaving a big black mark in the middle of the paper. Rahne swore under her breath.

"Hey," Logan called from up front causing Rahne to look up, "I heard that Runt. You shouldn't be using that type of language." Rahne grinned sheepishly and looked down at the paper again. She was shocked to see that the black mark she had left on the paper was no longer there. She turned the paper over in her hands and looked at it bewildered. There was no evidence of a mark anywhere on the page.

"Weird," she murmured as Cadence began sniffing the air curiously.

"Does anyone else smell cinnamon?" she asked as she continued to sniff the air.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the advanced technology of the Blackbird, the group of mutants was able to make the jump from the states to the UK in just under four hours. Xavier, using his "abilities of persuasion," talked the management of the airport that they landed at to house the jet until they returned to the states. They loaded into three vans and traveled into London and arrived at their hotel.

Rahne wasn't quite sure how the professor had become "independently wealthy" nor did she have any idea about how wealthy he was. From the looks of the swanky, upscale hotel, she knew that the man had to be loaded beyond imagination. After Professor Xavier retrieved the keys (actual keys, not the technologically advanced card keys) and divided them between the students, Logan gave them all a stern talking to.

"Curfew is midnight for _everyone_," he said this looking directly at Remy, "There are to be no pranks, no guys can go into girl's rooms and vice versa after ten, no usage of powers _at all_. No drinking or smoking," Remy scoffed at this and muttered something that sounded like "hypocrite."

"We want you all to have a good time," Ororo spoke up hoping to avoid a conflict between the two, "This is supposed to be a vacation for all of you, a bit of an escape. Please think before you act, and try not to do anything to outrageous."

"Because we will find out," Logan cut back in, "and I won't be lenient when it comes to punishments." He looked at every member of the group as each student nodded silently.

"Very well then," Professor Xavier said as he looked around the group, "Logan and Ororo both have cellular phones with them, should anything arise contact them immediately. If it becomes dire, and they do not answer, call another teammate or myself. I must remind you all that unlike you, I am here on business and will be spending most of my time in meetings and such and I should only be contacted if there is an emergency." The group nodded as several people pulled out their phones and checked to make sure they had the numbers.

"Excellent," Xavier said, "Please go settle yourselves in your rooms, and the rest of the afternoon will be yours to do what you like." Everyone grabbed their bags and headed towards the elevators or stairs. The rooming assignments were pretty much identical to their rooming at the Institute; however the boys were put four to a room because there were so many. Rogue, Kitty, Amara, and Jubilee had also opted to share a room while Jean shared a room with Ororo. Rahne and Cadence were glad to be left to their own devices.

Rahne heaved her suitcase onto a luggage rack while Cadence set hers down on her bed and sat down on the edge bouncing up and down slightly.

"Nice beds," she murmured absentmindedly before looking at her friend, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Rahne replied as she opened her suit case and pulled out her camera, "'ow about a littol sightseeing?"

"What is sightseeing?" Cadence asked looking genuinely confused. Rahne pondered how to explain it to her friend before she responded.

"It's when ye go around a place and look at landmarks, famous sights, and other such things," Rahne explained, "Essentially it's like exploring a town." Cadence nodded.

"That sounds like fun," she replied as the corners of her mouth quirked up into a barely perceptible smile, "Let's go." Rahne grabbed her messenger bag and stuck her wallet and camera in it while Cadence grabbed her own bag and a room key. The girls then left their room locking the door behind them. They were about ready to board the elevator when Logan came up behind them.

"Where are you two going?" he asked gruffly, vaguely sounding like an angry wolf, in an attempt to sound fatherly.

"Sightseeing," the girls responded at the same time as the elevator doors dinged open.

"You two need to be extremely careful," he said before they stepped into the elevator, "After your recent display at the mall, I'm wary of letting you two out of my sights. If anything, and I mean _anything_, happens at all, _do not_ use your powers. Call on the cell, got it?" The girls nodded as the doors slid shut, thankfully blocking the feral man from instructing them further.

The girls were soon on the street and walking through the bustling heart of the city of London. Cadence was enthralled with everything she saw and would ask Rahne about every little thing. It didn't take long for the girls to lose themselves and find that they were feeling comfortable in the busy city streets. They did, however, finally give in and buy a map, knowing if they wanted to see anything, a map would be necessary.

"Where should we visit first?" Cadence asked as she looked at the map, her eyes quickly darted over it and took note of the landmarks and historical sights that were marked in a vivid orange color, "How about this place?" she gestured to one of the places marked in orange.

"The Tower of London," Rahne read as she attempted to locate where they were on the map, "rioght then. It's not to far from where we are now. I remember 'at me mum used to tell me all sorts of stories about the Tower of London. I think she said 'at it was a prison at some point. Now it's where they keep the Crown Jewels. It's a really old building." The girls continued walking in the direction of their destination and talked excitedly.

Once they arrived, they quickly paid the admission and got a map of the tower grounds. They continued to wander around the outside, mingling with other visitors as they picked up little bit of information from the various tour guides and people employed at the Tower.

"As you can see," one guide said as he gestured towards the ground and sky, "There are a great deal of ravens that live in the Tower and on the Tower grounds. According to legend, Charles the second was told that if the ravens left the Tower the kingdom and the fortress would fall. In order to assure that this would not happen, he ensured that a limited number would permanently reside here . . ." Cadence tugged on Rahne's arm.

"Come on," she said excitedly, "I want to go see what this Medieval Palace is like." The girls continued to look around the palace and explore the various areas open to visitors. They stared in awe at the Crown Jewels which gleamed brightly in their highly protected cases; Cadence almost drooled as they walked through The White Tower and saw the Royal Armories' collections. Rahne didn't know that her friend was into the whole weaponry interest.

"When you are used as a weapon," she explained as she gaped at a particularly elaborate sword, "you tend to have a new respect for how much work and effort is put into something so that it can be used as a means of gaining dominance."

"'At's kind of a morbid outlook on the thing, isn't it?" Rahne asked as they made their way from The White Tower to The Beauchamp Tower. Cadence shrugged.

"No more so than usual," she said as they walked up to a group who was with a tour guide as he began a speech about the ghosts who reside in the tower. His audience listened with rapt attention, eating up every word he said as they wove their way from the top of the tower down into the lower levels by the Traitor's Gate. Once he had ended his particular tour of this section of the Tower, the girls made their way back to what was known as the Bloody Tower, where it was supposedly haunted by two small boys.

"This place is old," Cadence said warily as she looked around, Rahne couldn't help but laugh.

"O'course it is," she snickered as they walked through the halls, "it's nearly a thousand years old." Cadence rolled her eyes.

"No really?" Cadence asked sarcastically, "I mean that I can feel and almost smell how old this place really is," She shook her head for slight emphasis, "To be honest, it's giving me a headache." Rahne nodded sympathetically and glanced at her watch. It was nearly six-thirty, and the girls hadn't eaten since breakfast.

"'Ow about we go get something ta eat," Rahne suggested, "and 'en maybe we can head back to the hotel and call it a night." Cadence nodded and the girls made for the quickest exit and began meandering back towards their hotel. Finding a small restaurant, the girls walked in and were soon seated at a table. They ordered their meals and talked about the things they were going to do tomorrow.

"I was plannin' on startin' with me research first thing," Rahne said as Cadence sipped her soda, "No sense putting it off any more." Cadence nodded as she watched a woman with bright pink hair and two guys with ginger red hair get seated at the booth next to them.

"Would you like me to help you with that?" Cadence asked. Rahne struggled with her answer.

"It's really something I need ta do on me own," Rahne replied, "Would ye mind it if I did it on me own? I feel bad for abandoning ye . . ."

"Don't worry about it," Cadence said waving her hand dismissively as the waiter brought their food out, "I understand completely. I'll spend the day with Logan. You know, father-daughter bonding time." Rahne snorted into her drink and was about to reply when something from the newly seated trio caught their attention.

"I don't see how the minister can avoid the topic at all," one of the guys groaned, "the threat is becoming more dangerous each day."

"He wants to just ignore the whole problem, Charlie," the other guy replied, "if he acts like it doesn't exist, then it will go away."

"Bill's got a point," the girl spoke up, "I mean we're on the verge of a war with these people, and he doesn't want to upset the balance of power." Rahne and Cadence exchanged startled looks both girls thinking the same thing.

"You don't think . . ." Cadence whispered, anger slowly flooding into her veins. Fire erupted, she saw red, and was attempting to count to ten slowly.

"I wouldn't even call them people," the one named Charlie scoffed, "fanatics, monsters who endanger everyone around them. They can't be trusted at all." Rahne calmed herself and decided that it was time to get out of there. She looked over to Cadence to tell her this and let out a groan. Cadence was tightly gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles were white, her eyes on the table, and she was growling softly.

"X, just relax. Count to ten like Logan taught ye," she said as soothingly as she could as she grabbed the arm of a waitress who was walking by, "We need ta go boxes and our bill now." The waitress nodded dumbly and hurried off. Rahne looked back to her fuming friend.

Cadence was now looking at the two ginger haired men with a completely hallow look in her eyes. Rahne had only ever seen that look twice before. The first time had been when Cadence infiltrated the Institute and had nearly taken out everyone. The second time was after the defeat of Apocalypse. Rahne knew for sure that Cadence was slowly sinking back into X-23.

"Charlie," the unidentified woman continued, "you shouldn't be so hard on them because . . ."

"No," Charlie interrupted, "They think that they're so high and mighty, above the law, and superior; it makes me sick . . ."

"OY! CHECK NOW!" Rahne hollered as she could feel her own temper shortening with the group of people beside her. Their waiter quickly bustled over bringing the bill and a couple of to go boxes. Rahne quickly dumped the food in the boxes and slammed a several notes on top of the bill to cover the cost of their meal, and leave the waiter a generous tip.

Rahne then grabbed the boxes of food and Cadence's hand and practically ran from the restaurant. Cadence glared back at the trio who had been talking so harshly about mutants and glared fiercely at them. She desperately wanted to give them a piece of her mind, as well as running them through with her claws. She attempted to pry Rahne's hand off of her wrist, but the young Scottish girl had a firm grip. Cadence glared at them one last time, noting confusion on their faces, before her friend pulled her out the front door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tonks, Charlie, and Bill watched as the two girls who had been sitting at the booth next to theirs ran out of the restaurant. One girl with reddish-brown hair in low pigtails seemed to be leading the other girl with long brown hair as they ran from the dining establishment. The girl leading had fear etched onto her face and her friend had a look of the utmost loathing when she glared back at their table. The three exchanged looks as the two fled out the front door.

"That was odd," Tonks said slowly as she accidentally knocked over the salt shaker, "Muggles are so strange . . ." Bill rolled his eyes.

"It was your idea to come here in the first place," he retorted as he took a swig of his beer, "Why was it that we had to come here again?"

"Because the food here is the best Muggle food around," Tonks explained as she remembered the many times her dad had brought her here, "and we can be sure that no wizards overhear us discussing Order business."

"I dare say those two girls who ran out overheard us," Charlie said darkly. He was still staring at the door where the girls had left moments before. Bill nodded.

"We probably ought to chase them down and modify their memories," he said stretching. Tonks rolled her eyes.

"What for?" she replied, "We didn't mention anything magical, so we haven't breeched the Statute of Secrecy. All I can think of is the fact that we mentioned the minister and war. Being teens and all, they probably just freaked out, nothing more." Charlie nodded.

"She has a point," he said sitting back, "awful waste to chase them down. They couldn't have been offended by anything else, because they're obviously not from a stupid pureblood family."

"Charlie," Bill said warningly, "Need I remind you what we are . . .?"

"We're different though," Charlie countered, "No one in our family pulls the whole 'I'm-pure-blooded-bow-down-and-worship-the-ground-I-tread-on.' We're, well, sane." Bill and Tonks both rolled their eyes.

"Back to business," Bill said looking at Tonks, "What were we talking about before . . .?"


	4. Crossing Over

**A/N: **Thank you so much for the awesome reviews guys! Be sure to keep them coming. I don't know about Jinxeh, but reviews definitely feed my mojo making me able to write more and better. So read, review, and enjoy!

Sidenote: This is a Jinxeh chapter. It's pretty amazing. Quite possibly _beyond_ amazing.

* * *

Chapter 4: Crossing Over

"People lioke that make me so _angry_!" Rahne fumed as she and Cadence walked down the crowded street, trying to put as much space in between themselves and the people they thought had been talking about mutants as they could. Cadence was not talking much; she had her hands in her pockets and a dark look upon her face as they made their way down the crowded sidewalk. She was slowly drifting back to being Cadence, getting as far away from X-23 as she could have when she felt so angry inside.

"I mean…talkin' 'bout mutants lioke that…so frustratin'! Lioke we eva did anything ta them or somethin'!" Rahne raged on, making several passersby look at them strangely as they walked. Neither of the girls seemed to care.

"Should we go back to the hotel, then?" asked Cadence finally, casting a very dark look at a boy that they passed for no apparent reason other than to frighten him. It seemed to work too, for he suddenly gulped and walked away at a brisk pace. Rahne thought about it for a moment as they walked around a street corner, but then shook her head.

"Nah, I'm too angry now…can't let some stupid idiots ruin our fun…" she muttered darkly. "C'mon, there's supposed to be a museum up this way…we 'kin check it out 'fore we go back to the hotel…"

XXXXXXXXX

The museum turned out to be an excellent place to take their minds off of what had happened earlier with the apparent mutant-haters. Besides there being galleries full of what appeared to be historical reenactments made from wax, there were fascinating paintings every which-way and sculptures that made them swoon. Or in Cadence's case, confuse.

"But I do not understand," said Cadence with a slight frown, her head cocked at she looked at the sculpture in front of her. It was made of twisted metal, painted red and violet and reminded Rahne of a deformed sort of DNA strand that towered over their heads. "What is the use of this…sculpture?"

"It's wot people call art," replied Rahne with a small sigh, preparing herself for what she knew the other girl was going to say next. "It's just somethin' that we kin' look at for fun an' stuff, y'know?"

"But what importance does it hold?" asked Cadence, becoming very frustrated. She never could understand what others referred to as 'art', after all. It just didn't make sense to her, and nor did it fit into any area of her previous training. "Can it be used for food or shelter? Is it of any use as a weapon? Can it contribute to life itself? If it cannot, then what good could it possibly be?"

"It's just…_there_," tried Rahne again as they began to walk away. "People like to look at sculptures because…well…some people like art, I guess," she said uncomfortably.

"Why?" Cadence asked with a frown. Rahne shrugged.

"Well…ye got me there," she admitted with a small grin, then checking her watch. "We've been 'ere for a while…I suppose I can check out somethin' in de library 'fore we went back to the 'otel…"

"We still have time," Cadence said with a small shrug, heading towards the front gallery of the museum. She did not even have to check a watch; she had a sort of internal one, and she was usually never wrong with it. "We can do that before we go back to the hotel, I suppose…"

XXXXXXXXX

"That's it…I officially hate London," Rahne grumbled, letting her head fall forwards onto the pages of the newspapers she had been reading with a thump. Looking sideways at Cadence she sighed again and closed her eyes. "You don't have to keep looking…we aren't going to find anything here…"

Cadence had been relentless in her searching for the past hour, perhaps even more so than Rahne herself. At the present she was standing high up on a ladder, pulling record books from the high shelves and tucking them under her right arm. She looked down in surprise as Rahne spoke, as though she could not believe her ears.

"How can you know that if we do not look at everything?" she asked with a frown, descending the ladder with ease. "This genealogy section of this library is the best place to look if trying to find out about your past. You don't want to find your parents anymore?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Rahne said quickly, raising her head guiltily and looking to her strange friend as she hopped off of the ladder and walked towards the table that she was sitting at. "I just mean…well…I looked through all of these newspapers and there is no mentioning of a marriage between a Liona and Remus Lupin at all," she said in frustration, gesturing down to the yellow newspapers that were scattered all over the table.

The whole section of the library they were in was dark and musty, and having the old newspapers so close to her was making Rahne smell it even more. It was not a pleasant smell, and was beginning to make her head spin. It was no wonder that no one else was in the same section…the whole dimly-lit section was devoid of human life except for them. Not even the library clerk dared to venture into this region.

"Maybe they were not married here," Cadence suggested as she dumped her small stack of books on the edge of the table and then leaned over them, resting her chin on the topmost one sadly. "Maybe they were married somewhere else, then?"

"Tha' wouldn't matter," said Rahne with a sigh. "If they were residents 'ere, then it woulda been in da' papers anyways…I jus' don' get it…"

"Maybe you need to take a small break? I have found that it is much easier to concentrate on such things when one is well-rested," said Cadence evenly. "We have been here for at least an hour and a half…I think it is time to return to the hotel."

"Aye…'fore Logan calls us up an' demands ta know where we are," said Rahne with a sigh. "C'mon, 'elp me get all a' dese newspapers back where they're supposed ta be…"

XXXXXXXXX

"We kin try again tomorrow," Rahne said tiredly as the two of them walked out of the library and down the stone front steps in front of the building. The stairs were much more crowded than the library itself had been, and so they had to walk around many people to avoid running into them. "But you're rioght…I need some rest."

"It appears as though Remy LeBeau might need some too," said Cadence with a certain amount of hilarity evident in her normally dark voice. As they reached the bottom step Rahne looked at her in confusion before then following her gaze down the crowded London street. She groaned in frustration and then started off at a jog, heading for the street corner with Cadence right on her heels.

"Rogue!" Rahne called as they sped up to a run, ducking around the various people that all stared at them as they went past. Rogue looked around tiredly as she heard her name called and then waved at the two girls half-heartedly as they approached her.

"Ya wouldn't happen to have any coffee, now would ya?" she asked jerking her head in the direction of Remy, who did look like he needed something to help him sober up. At the time he was pacing back and forth on the street corner, playing with his cards and shouting angrily at all those who dared to pass him. He seemed worried that someone was going to take his cards…

"Ah…no," Rahne said uncertainly, watching the older mutant continue to pace back and forth. "I thought Logan said no drinkin' or smokin'?"

"The swamp rat found an open bar," replied Rogue between gritted teeth. "Some plahce where ya pay fer a wristband and then get free drinks fer the night…stupid idiot…"

Cadence couldn't help but smile just a little bit. Even though Rogue had tried to sound scornful when she called Remy what she had, there was a small hint of fondness in the southern woman's voice as well. She obviously was not an expert at hiding her true feelings when she talked.

"We should get 'im back to tha 'otel, then," Rahne said, rolling her eyes and walking towards the intoxicated Cajun. "If we go through tha back way, we should be able ta' avoid Logan…"

"Famous last words," Rogue muttered, stalking up to Remy and grabbing his left elbow. "C'mon Swamp Rat, time ta go back ta the hotel…"

"You can't tell Remy what ta do…" said the man blearily, though he allowed himself to be led down the street anyways.

"Yeah, and ya can't hold yer liquor," snapped Rogue as they set off at a brisk pace. "Y'know…we're supposed to be settin' an example for these guys and we can't exactly do that when you're stumblin' around London, drunk!"

"Since when 'as dat ever stopped me?" asked Remy in confusion as they turned the corner and began walking down a side street, through an alley.

"He has a point, y'know," said Rahne with a small snigger, following behind the two. Rogue looked over her shoulder and gave Rahne a 'look', which made her smile innocently at the older woman. "Well…this 'as been an interesting day…"

"Yes…people complaining about mutants right in front of us…looking for signs of marriages that might not exists…older mutants getting drunk during a school function…very interesting indeed," said Cadence, looking at all of the people they passed inquisitively as she did. Many of them looked very strange to her; colored hair and black clothing, chains everywhere…

"People complaining about mutants?" Rogue repeated, looking over her shoulder as they walked, immediately serious once more. "What? Where?"

So Cadence left Rahne to explain what had happened earlier when they had stopped somewhere for something to eat; the way the people at the other table were talking about mutants like they were the enemies of the world or something, even the way that they had to leave quickly so Cadence didn't slip back into being X-23 once more. Rahne forced herself to speak calmly, though inside she was once again boiling mad.

"Ugh…and here Ah was thinkin' we're supposed to get away from all of that while we were here," Rogue said with a sigh while trying to keep a drunken Remy away from a magazine stand so he wouldn't knock into it.

"That's what I thought too," Rahne muttered darkly. "Wait…how far are we from tha 'otel, anyways?"

"A few blocks, Ah'd say," said Rogue with another frown, tightening her hold on Remy's elbow. "A good thing too…any farther and Ah'd say screw it an' leave 'im here!"

"Come now _chere_," said Remy in a dazed voice. "Ye know ye love me…look, a tavern! Le's stop!" he added in excitement upon seeing the entrance of a bar just down the street from them. Rogue was forced to twist his arm painfully to distract him from it until they had finally passed it.

"Ow! _Chere_! Dat hurts!" he complained loudly as they turned another corner.

"Not as much as your head will tomorrow morning," said Rogue with a scowl as she twisted his arm again painfully. She seemed to be finally enjoying herself. Unfortunately, she was only succeeding in confusing Cadence, who was following the two with Rahne, a few feet behind them.

"I thought you had told me that they both are infatuated with one another, so why is she hurting him?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Rogue's back in a dangerous sort of way.

"Despite tha fact that he might deserve it, she's doin' a good job in keepin' him in line," Rahne said, laughing softly. "And it's not that she don't like 'im…she's just trying to keep 'im from doin' somethin' stupid, seein' as he is drunk and all…"

"Logan will not be pleased when he finds out about this," Cadence said sadly.

"Well…Logan's not gonna find out 'bout this, now is he?" Rahne asked uneasily, though even she was somewhat sure that they would never get away with it anyways. Logan always seemed to know everything that went on with the X-Men and the newer recruits…

"It is almost impossible to hide anything from him," Cadence sighed. "You know that I will not be the one to tell him, but he will find out either way…if I had not known better in the beginning, I would have thought that he was the psychic and not Professor Xavier…"

"Yeah, Logan's just scary in that way," Rogue muttered darkly, practically dragging Remy along with her. "Really Cajun…just because ya can drink don't mean that ya' should!"

Remy, however, wasn't listening to the woman holding on to his elbow. Instead he was looking over his shoulder and past the two girls that were following them with narrowed red-on-black eyes. Finally he looked forward again, though his suddenly grim expression wasn't changing.

"Don' look now _chere_, but we bein' followed," he muttered, trying to wrench his elbow from her grip. He was unsuccessful at this, though he did get Rogue to look back. Cadence and Rahne, both of whom had heard what Remy had said, suddenly tensed. They didn't look back however; they didn't want whoever it was that was following them to know that they had been spotted.

"Damn, ya're right," Rogue said, finally looking forward again with a grim frown. "There's at least five of 'em…what'd ya do, use your powers in that bar place ya were in?" she demanded furiously.

"No, actually," he answered in surprise. "I was careful, _chere_! Promise!"

Rogue snorted in contempt, but now she looked worried. Even though it probably wasn't the wisest thing, Rahne did chance a peek over her shoulder to the people that were following them; there were at least five of them, all with their hands in their pockets and all looking forwards a bit suspiciously. Three of them looked to be older teenaged boys, while the other two looked to be in their mid twenties or so. Gulping, she turned around again and continued walking.

"Let's just try an' make it back to the hotel peacefully, all right?" said Rogue warningly as Cadence and Rahne picked up speed so they were closer to the two older mutants. "_No_ fightin', Remy," she added, nudging Remy in the elbows, as he had been reaching into his trench coat for his cards.

"But _chere_-"

"_No_, Remy!"

"But we should attack dem _first_!"

"_Remy_!"

"_Chere_…"

"Remy, put them cards away or else I'll put 'em somewhere else much less pleasant," said Rogue darkly. Remy finally got the point and shoved the cards back into the pocket inside of his coat, muttering rapidly in French while casting dark looks at both Rogue and the people following them.

They had managed to make it at least another half of a city block before they ran into trouble again. It was a pity; they had been only a couple of blocks from the hotel at the time.

"Hey! Mutie! Yeah, you! Hey! The one with the red eyes!"

"And so it begins," Rogue sighed, shaking her head sadly as one of the boys behind them began to shout again. "Just ignore them guys…let's just try to get to the hotel without getting' into a rumble, okay?"

"Dey're startin' it," Remy muttered. For some reason their immediate danger seemed to have sobered him up just a bit. It was rather strange how that often worked for him.

"Yeah, well we're _not_ going to finish it," Rogue snapped. "Ah'm not gonna sink to their level!"

"I don' know if we're gonna get that choice," Rahne said nervously.

"Hey mutie! I'm _talking_ to you!" hollered one of the boys. Rogue scowled and turned around, walking backwards while facing them.

"Hey wise-ass! I'm _ignoring_ you!" she bellowed before turning around and walking calmly again as though nothing at all had happened.

"Uh…I thought we were tryin' ta get ta tha hotel peacefully," said Rahne with a scowl. Rogue shrugged.

"Normally when you confront idiots like this, they chicken out and leave ya alone," she said surely. "Those guys you got in trouble with at the mall left pretty quickly when Logan started yellin' at 'em," she added with a grin.

Rahne would have absolutely loved to believe everything that Rogue had just said to them, that the boys would leave them alone now that they were confronted and they themselves could continue on to the hotel without further incident. However…it turned out that believing her was something difficult to do, for the next moment a rock seemed to have come out of nowhere, aimed for Remy but instead colliding with the back of Cadence's head.

With a snarl, Cadence turned around and faced the group of sniggering males, her fists clenched and her face a mask of pure rage. Rogue and Remy turned around in surprise and Rahne tensed up even more than she had before, sensing what was about to happen.

"_Who threw that_?" she bellowed, seeing red once again just as had happened earlier with the people at the small restaurant. To hell with counting to ten, she thought, she wanted to slice these idiots. The boys all began to laugh, even as Rahne grabbed onto one of Cadence's arms and tried to pull her away. Her effort was fruitless; Cadence wasn't moving.

"Hey girly, don't get mad at us," said one of the older ones, struggling not to right-out laugh at her. "We were aiming for the freak with the red eyes, not you!"

"Cadence, come _on_," Rahne whispered hurriedly, trying in vain to pull the girl away so they could continue on their way. Several other people on the street had stopped and were staring at all of them with wide eyes. When the word 'mutie' was shouted, it often had that effect.

"Let me _go_, Rahne!"

"Yeah, _Rahne_," mimicked one of the boys. "Let her _go_!"

But Rahne could already see that it was too late to stop her friend. Cadence was seeing red; she knew that she was, and no calming method that Logan had taught her was going to keep her from going feral on the boys. What had happened at the mall back in Bayville, what those strange people in the restaurant had been saying earlier, and now this…it was a little too much for someone as well-trained as Cadence to be able to take peacefully. Behind her, Rahne could hear Rogue and Remy swear under their breath; they knew it as well.

"Cadence…come on…just count to ten, forget about them…please Cadence…" Rahne muttered, trying for one last time to calm the girl down. For a split second she had thought that it might have worked; Cadence took a deep breath and unclenched her fists at least…but the next moment one of the boys had picked up a handful of pebbles from a small landscaping scene outside of a restaurant and had thrown them at the four mutants, showering them in pebbles and dirt. That was _it_ for Cadence.

With an inhuman scream, two claws had suddenly popped out of each of her knuckles and she had launched herself towards the group of boys. The boys themselves suddenly looked afraid; they had not expected that all of them had been mutants! They had just thought the one male was because of his strange eyes that they had seen!

Fortunately for them, before Cadence could even reach any of them there came another yell and she had suddenly dropped to the pavement in front of them, making them all jump back with a yelp once they saw why. The other people on the streets either began yelling on their own or screaming and running away from the mutants.

Rahne had been able to act fast, quickly changing forms and leaping for Cadence just as she had leapt for the boys. Now half wolf and half human, she kept a firm grip on Cadence's lower legs, keeping her from going forwards anymore. Well…it was easy to say that Cadence was no longer Cadence…now she was, once again, X-23; feral, and ready to kill. She ignored Rahne and tried to claw her way to the males, her adamantium claws leaving marks in the cement sidewalk.

With a rough kick however, that struck Rahne right in her snout, X-23 was free again, getting to her feet and advancing on the males slowly, growling at them as though she too was half-animal. Getting up behind her, Rahne growled and rubbed her nose tenderly, more annoyed than harmed.

"X, stop!" Rogue called, letting go of Remy and taking off only one of her gloves, just in case she would have to use her powers. She would rather have not had any of the boys stuck inside of her head if she could have helped it. Next to her, Remy already had some charged cards in one of his hands.

Instead of running away like Rogue had said that they might have, the boys all began to pick up more rocks and larger pebbles from the landscaping, hurling them at the mutants and not caring if they came close to hitting other people either. Most were aiming for X-23, as she seemed to be their biggest threat at the time.

"X!" Rahne bellowed, though with her strangely-developed and fanged mouth the words came up a little slurred. "Let's go!"

She didn't listen, continuing with advancing on the boys as though they were some sort of small animals and she were the cat stalking them.

"X! LET'S GO!"

This seemed to slightly jolt X-23 out of her reverie, but she continued to glare. Instead of stalking up to them, she began backing away. She kept her claws out and her teeth were exposed threateningly, but it seemed that she was willing to listen to her friend instead of her instincts.

"Good," said Rahne, a slight growl in her tone. "Now go home, boys…we don' want no trouble…"

It seemed that they _did_ however, for the rocks and pebbles just kept coming towards them all.

"We need to get back to the hotel!" Rogue bellowed grabbing on to Rahne's fur covered arm and dragging her away. Remy did the same for Cadence, and so together they began to run down the street and away from the boys.

"Dey're followin'!" Remy shouted, looking over his shoulder as they ran across a street, narrowly avoiding a car, which was forced to come to a skidding stop to avoid hitting them. When they were back on the next sidewalk, Rahne looked over her shoulder as well and saw that he was right; they were following them, and they were getting closer. Many other people on the sidewalk were cheering for the boys. With a jolt, Rahne finally realized that she was still in her half-human form.

"Split up!" X-23 barked, seeing the separate alleyways coming up. "Rahne, left! Rogue, straight! Gambit, right!"

"We can't split up!" Rogue protested, though she sounded unsure.

"We'll meet at the hotel!" X-23 growled. Rahne wasn't even given a choice in the matter, for when they passed the entrance of the alley on their left, the girl suddenly pushed her inside with such force that she stumbled and almost fell. Feeling that it would be too late to turn back now, Rahne regained her balance and continued running, going back into her human form as she did. It would not have been a very smart thing to do, emerging on the other side still looking like an escaped science experiment gone wrong.

Behind her she could hear pounding footsteps echoing on the asphalt in the alley; it sounded like at least two of them had started after her. She could at least be grateful that it wasn't all of them. She was remorseful that she still had her backpack strapped on her back however; it was filled with things that were likely to slow her down; a cell phone, the piece of parchment, and the two photographs also left to her from her parents, not to mention some notebooks and writing utensils that she had been using for her research. If she had not been in such a hurry, however, she might have noticed that the lower back flap to the pack was unzipped; the one that she had put the parchment and photos in.

When she burst out of the alley on another rather run-down street, she had thought she was going to be able to disappear into the crowds. Unfortunately for her, there was not really any crowd that she could have disappeared into. There were people walking here and there in pair or in small groups, but not a crowd that could have hidden in. Still, she did not stop running because she could still hear the footsteps behind her getting closer.

So she decided that her only chance there was to duck into a store or restaurant there on the street. None of them looked very inviting, and most of them had large front windows that allowed anyone to see inside! That was not going to be any good for hiding…and then she saw it.

There was one small place that had not a single large window to it, although there were several small and dusty ones, and seemed, for some strange reason, to be very difficult to spot. As she ran across the street towards it, she noticed with a certain amount of uncertainly that whenever she went to look at the sign above the door, her eyes seemed to want to slide away from it, as if her own eyes did not wish for her to look at it.

Still, she didn't have the time to wonder about this; her keen hearing was able to pick up the sounds of the boys, who were about to make it out of the alley. Without even thinking about it she ran up to the front door of the strange pub, seemingly called "The Leaky Cauldron" and wrenched the door open. Just as the boys ran out of the alley she ducked into the pub and allowed for the heavy wooden door to slam shut behind her.

XXXXXXXXX

When the door to the pub was suddenly flung opened, emitting a fair amount of the early evening light into the normally dark establishment, and then slammed shut again, Peter Pettigrew looked up from his spot at the bar and glanced back at the doorway to see who it was. People were, after all, usually very discreet about entering "The Leaky Cauldron". What he saw however absolutely astounded him.

For a moment he could have sworn that Liona Lupin was leaning back against the wall by the door, a hand on her heaving chest as she struggled to breathe. She was glancing over her shoulder to one of the dusty windows, shrinking back as what appeared to be two muggle boys ran past, shouting to one another angrily. Finally they had passed and she allowed a sigh of relief to escape from her lips.

With narrowed eyes, he watched as she slowly stepped away from the wall, smiling weakly at those who had looked around when she had entered, and approaching an empty table in the corner. She looked like Liona…acted like her a bit too…but this girl was far too young to be the Liona he had known. But it was so strange…who else could she have been? He shook his head; it was impossible, Liona had been dead for thirteen years.

Then it hit him, and he smiled behind his disguise; he had to wear a kerchief over the lower half of his face, not to mention very baggy robes to hide his chubby figure. Being recognized now…well, that wouldn't have been a very good thing. At the moment, however, he had other things on his mind. He had seen, when the girl had run in, that something flat and square had fallen from an open flap of her pack.

As the girl shakily took a seat at the corner table, setting her pack beside her on the ground, he slipped off of his barstool and walked towards the door, where the flat square was lying. When he stooped down and picked it up, however, his heart was suddenly caught in his throat as he saw it for what it really was.

It was a photograph, featuring two people that he had once known very well; Liona and Remus Lupin, twirling each other around, their faces full of love and laughter…it was them; there was no question about it. And the girl, who looked so much like Liona…

He looked over to the girl again, who was busying herself with her pack, rummaging through it frantically. Finally she pulled out what appeared to be a miniature version of a muggle phone and was pressing buttons on it with shaking fingers. Apparently it would not do what she wanted it to, however, and soon she seemed to become very frustrated with it.

This got Pettigrew to thinking. There was absolutely no way that the girl was not the offspring of Remus and Liona…she looked to be like a smaller version of her mother even; with cherry-red hair and her father's sparkling blue-green eyes…but from what he knew she had never gotten to know her parents…

Perfect. That had to mean she was vulnerable. She was obviously lost and in need of help, judging from the boys that looked to have been chasing her earlier. The picture in hand, he walked towards her corner table with a grin on his face.


	5. Lost and Found

**A/N:** This is another chapter written by yours truly. We know you guys hate Pettigrew, so this chapter will probably not be to your liking. Just remember, things always get worse before they get better . . .

Thank you for the reviews and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Lost and Found

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black had finally quieted down for the first time in several days. Mrs. Weasley had sent the children off to their rooms after dinner because much of the house was still to dangerous to live in at the current time. The various adults had spread themselves about the house; many were occupied with work, either for their day to day jobs or for the Order. Mrs. Weasley was actually doing a bit of cleaning to calm her nerves. She had decided after Fred and George's last prank that having only three living spaces was not nearly enough for the amount of people living there.

While most of the residents of Number 12 Grimmauld Place were being productive in some way, shape, or form, there was one who sat alone in the kitchen with a resigned air absently swirling his tea. He looked far older than his actual thirty-five years. His face was pale and drawn; his once well kept sandy brown hair was in a state of disarray and streaked with premature gray. His once shining blue-green eyes were dull and filled with pain and sorrow as he idly played with a loose bit of hem on his worn, nearly threadbare robes. Life had chewed Remus Lupin up and spat him back out in a most unmerciful way.

Cradling the porcelain teacup in his scared hands, he blew a bit of the steam away and took a timid sip. The hot liquid scorched his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice, or care for that matter. So lost in his thoughts was he, that he didn't notice that the person who had been standing in the doorway watching his self-introspection had sat down in front of him.

"I never took you for one to add Firewhiskey to your tea, Moony," a coarse voice chuckled bringing Remus from his reverie. He raised his tired eyes and gave a half-hearted smile to the man now sitting across from him.

"I thought you knew me better than that, Sirius," Remus replied tiredly as he took another sip of his tea, "How did you know anyway?" The man across from him laughed; his laugh actually sounded more like a bark than anything.

"Living as a dog for months at a time has greatly effected most of my senses," Sirius replied dryly as he tapped the side of his nose, "Not to mention, Ogden's Old Firewhiskey has a very distinct aroma that anyone can smell." Remus took a moment to consider his friend.

Life hadn't been very fair to Sirius Black either. Once, he had been handsome and charming, a true ladies' man in their Hogwarts' days. Now, he was a mere shadow of his former self, but twelve years in Azkaban and two years on the run will do that to any man. Sirius had been wrongly imprisoned for a crime that he didn't commit, and wrongly accused of betraying his best friend and his wife to Lord Voldemort. He, too, was pale and very gaunt and thin. His gray eyes still managed to hold some of their youthful glimmer, but one had to look hard to see it. His black locks had been tamed and trimmed giving him a slight aristocratic and elegant air, but nothing of what it had been before in his younger years.

"What's got you down now, Moony?" Sirius asked with true concern for his friend, "The full moon was over a week ago . . ." The former convict trailed off, not knowing what else would put his friend in such a somber mood.

"It's been thirteen years to the day," Remus sighed sadly as he stared blankly into his teacup. For a moment, Sirius just looked at his friend in confusion before realization had sunk in.

"I-I'm sorry, Remus, I-I-I forgot," Sirius stuttered, something that Remus wasn't aware his overconfident friend was capable of doing. Remus took another pull from his teacup.

"It's not your fault," Remus replied softly, "You were in Azkaban. There was nothing you could have done. It was a fallout attack from the war; Fenrir knew he wouldn't be able to get Dumbledore or Harry for revenge for Voldemort's fall, so he went for the next best option in his eyes . . ." Remus trailed off.

"But the Voldemort had been gone for over a year," Sirius said, "why . . .?" Remus laughed darkly.

"Fenrir's attacks are personal and emotional," Remus replied, "That is one of the reasons why he bites children. Damn it, Padfoot, I had a feeling he was planning to attack. If I had listened to my instincts . . ." Remus bit his lip to fight back the sob that was struggling to surface.

"There was still nothing you could have done," Sirius tried to comfort his friend, "Sure, you could have run and hid with Liona, but you know he would have followed you."

"I still can't help feeling that I'm the reason she was killed," Remus confessed shutting his eyes. Sirius knew that Remus wasn't one to show any great amount of emotion, and seeing his friend near tears was driving him mad.

"You've got to stop blaming yourself, Remus," Sirius attempted to comfort his friend, "It was a full moon, you were locked up, and from what I heard, she put up one hell of a fight. Liona was strong, she always had been. She knew what she was getting into when she married you. She loved you, Moony."

"I know," Remus said weakly, "I know, but sometimes it's so hard without her and . . ." Remus trailed off again. Sirius knew what his friend was now referring too.

"She's still out there, Remus," Sirius replied, "You did the only thing you could. Merlin only knows what would have happened to Rahne if the Ministry Child Services had gotten a hold of her." Remus gave a dry chuckle.

"They were furious when they came to get her and I had already given her away," Remus said with a slight smirk, "Got put on probation for a year for that. They had someone tailing me for two years afterwards to see if I would go visit her. Sometimes the Ministry can be so stupid."

"I hear you loud and clear," Sirius snorted, "Honestly, as a werewolf you are perfectly capable of raising a baby, and they should really give all supposed criminals a trial before sending them off to Azkaban." The two men shared a dark chuckle.

"You know, I've thought about getting her back," Remus said off-handedly, "but I'm honestly scared of how she'll react."

"I'm sure any child would be glad to see their father," Sirius protested. Remus couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Right," Remus replied, "Is that before or after the fact she realizes that I had given her up knowingly? How about after I tell her I'm a werewolf and a wizard?"

"Well she's going to Hogwarts right?" Sirius asked, "You taught there for a year, so you saw her." Remus shook his head. "But you and Liona are both . . . you're a half-blood . . . that doesn't make any sense . . . she _should_ be . . ."

"I talked to Dumbledore about it when I did teach there," Remus said sadly, "It would have been her second year, but Dumbledore said that she wasn't on the books. He said there was something _different_ about her. He told me that he had a feeling that she was more than a squib." Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"A squib?" he asked. Remus nodded helplessly. Sirius hesitated before asking, "D'you think she's a werewolf?"

"No, Liona told me that she never transformed," Remus said as he sat back, "I haven't any clue what Dumbledore meant by 'different.'"

"Maybe you should go to her and find out," Sirius suggested. Remus gave another tired sigh.

"If Dumbledore sends me to Scotland for Order business, I will," Remus replied, "I would sooner, but he and the Order need me here right now." The two friends then lapsed into silence.

"Did you leave her anything?" Sirius asked.

"A picture of Liona and me from right before we got married and one of the Marauders with Hogwarts in the background," Remus replied, "I also left a note just for her, but you need an incantation for the words to appear, just like the map. But since she's not a witch, that last thing isn't going to do her a lot of good."

XXXXXXXXXXX

_Relax_, Rahne commanded herself, _you just need to relax. Just call Logan, tell him what happened, and he will come get you._ Rahne had just finished digging through her bag and pulled out her cell phone triumphantly. Flipping it open, she scrolled to her address book and flipped through the names until the name 'Logan' was highlighted. She pressed the small green button that said 'send' and she put the phone up to her ear. The phone rang once before Rahne started to get some weird type of feedback. The static grew louder and Rahne couldn't tell if Logan had picked up or not.

"Logan," Rahne said into the phone, "Logan, are ye there? It's Rahne." The static and feedback only got louder before dying out completely. Rahne pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the small screen.

The call had been ended, and she didn't know why. Her battery was completely charged, and she had full reception . . . now she had one less bar, but still enough to place a call . . . another bar disappeared . . . and another . . . then her phone completely shut off.

"Oh God," Rahne whimpered as she snapped her dead phone shut and put it back in her bag. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Her situation wasn't that bad, she tried to convince herself. She had been in much worse situations before.

"Ye're stranded in London with no phone and an angry mob looking for ye," Rahne said to herself, "Things could be much, much worse."

"Yes, the mob could have pitchforks and torches," another voice said with a chuckle causing Rahne to jump a foot in the air. She hadn't noticed the man as he approached her booth, and Rahne tried to get a good look at him. He was wearing a black cloak that was far too big for him; Rahne couldn't tell what type of clothing he had on under it. He had a black fedora pulled low on his forehead, shrouding his features in shadows. He also had a handkerchief covering his nose and mouth. All in all, he freaked Rahne out.

"I-I-I suppose that would be worse," Rahne stuttered as the man slipped into the booth across from her. Once he was sure he was in the shadows of the booth he took the handkerchief off and stuffed it into a pocket. He looked familiar to Rahne, but she couldn't place where she had seen him before.

"I believe that you dropped this when you came in, my dear," the man said as he pulled a small rectangular piece of paper from the folds of his cloak. Rahne let out a startled gasp as he held out the moving picture of her mother and father. She quickly snatched it from his hands and looked into her bag. She mumbled darkly seeing that the compartment was unzipped, but relieved that the parchment and other picture were still in there.

"Thank ye, sir," Rahne said as she stowed the picture away in the back pocket of her jeans, "I don't know wot I would 'ave done if I 'ad lost it," Rahne then considered the man carefully. He seemed curious about something, "If ye want to know why it is moving, I'm afraid I can't tell ye that . . ."

"Honestly, dear, you don't expect them to stand around all day now do you?" he asked with a chuckle. The words sank in and Rahne stared at the man with wide eyes, "It's perfectly natural that they would want to move about." Rahne gaped at the man for a minute or two before she trusted herself to speak.

"Ye mean that's normal?" she asked unable to keep the incredulous tone from her voice. The man chuckled again.

"Of course it's normal," the man replied, "At least for the wizarding world anyways. I dare say that muggles would be quite startled if they saw moving pictures that, in their minds, should be still." Rahne looked at the man in disbelief as her jaw hung open slightly. His statement both astounded and confused her.

"Wizarding world?" she mumbled disbelievingly, "muggles?" The man chuckled and Rahne instantly regained her composure, "Who are ye?"

"My name's Peter," the man responded speaking so only Rahne could hear him, "but most of my . . . colleagues . . . call me Wormtail." Rahne continued to gape at the man and then immediately started searching through her bag. She pulled out another picture and looked between it and the man.

"You mean Wormtail as in 'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs'?" Rahne asked as she continued looking at the picture. The round young man with the watery blue eyes in the picture had an uncanny resemblance to the man now seated in front of her. It had to be him. Peter smiled.

"Yes," Peter replied with a wistful look on his face, "Those were the nicknames my friends and I went by while we still went to Hogwarts."

"So Hogwarts is a school," Rahne mused thinking back to her research.

"Yes," Peter responded with a nod of his head, "One of the finest schools for witchcraft and wizardry in the whole of Europe."

"So wait just one minute," Rahne said holding up a hand, "Ye're a wizard," the man nodded, "An' magic is real?"

"As real as you and I sitting here," Peter responded with a weak smile. Rahne considered this for a moment.

"Prove it," she demanded. To her utter surprise, Peter pulled out a wooden stick, _a wand_, from his robes. He them pointed it to the salt and pepper shakers that were on the table.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," he said and the two shakers began to float in the air with a faint yellow light surrounding them. They began to sink back down and Peter turned to her, "If you look around you there is magic being used everywhere." Rahne took a moment to take in her surroundings.

Peter was right.

Rahne watched with fascination as the barkeeper summoned bottles and food out of thin air. There was a broom sweeping the floor without anyone touching it. A man was at a table reading a newspaper with moving script as his teacup stirred itself. A gnarled old man with a peg leg had a large electric blue eye that swiveled in all directions, even to the back of his head. He growled at two young kids behind him who were fighting over a stuffed dragon that was attempting to fly away. There was a group of women chittering excitedly as a teapot floated in mid air and poured each woman a drink. Rahne finally turned back to Peter.

"Magic is real," she mumbled tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Here I thought it wos jus' a thing in fairy tales and stories."

"That's what most muggles think," Peter replied.

"Wot's a muggle?" Rahne asked cocking her head to one side.

"Non-magic folk," Peter replied drumming his fingertips on the table in a bored manner. Rahne nodded and bit her lip, "Something bothering you?"

"Do ye know a Remus Lupin by chance?" Rahne asked fiddling with the picture of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Peter quirked an odd smile.

"Of course I know Remus," he replied jovially, "He was one of my mates in school." He gestured to the picture and Rahne laid it down on the table, "He was Moony," Peter said pointing to the younger picture of her father, "I already told you that I was Wormtail," he pointed to the image of his younger self, "The one in the tree was our friend Sirius Black. He was Padfoot. And the last fellow with messy black hair and glasses was James Potter, he was Prongs." Rahne felt her heart start beating a little bit faster. This man knew her father; he was friends with her father.

"Ye wouldn't happen ta know where 'e is now would ye?" Rahne asked attempting to keep her excitement in check. Peter looked at Rahne, and she could see the sadness in his eyes. _Not good, _thought Rahne_, that can't be good._

"I don't know why you would be looking for him," Peter said with an air of saddened indifference, "He's a murderer."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Cadence was panting as she slumped against the back wall of the hotel the X-men were staying at. She hadn't been this out of breath since the level thirteen training session she had with her father when she first arrived at the institute. Cadence looked down the dark alleyways waiting for the others to arrive. A cool breeze whistled in her ears.

Night had fully settled on the city of London, and Cadence could tell that it was getting to be very late. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the others to show. She knew Logan would be pissed about the incident that had happened, and his wrath would be ten-fold if they all got in after curfew. Cadence crossed her arms and let out a rough sigh.

She perked up when she heard two sets of feet running in her direction. For a brief moment she tensed up and dropped into a battling stance with her fists clenched, claws ready to pop out. She relaxed almost instantly as Rogue and Remy stepped out of the shadows towards the girl. They were both out of breath and Remy struggled to keep on his feet, the alcohol that he had had earlier was having its obvious effects on the Cajun ability to stay balanced.

"Are you two hurt?" Cadence asked with a severe tone of voice. Rogue shook her head wordlessly and Remy gave her a thumb up.

"Have either of you seen Rahne?" Cadence asked with an edge to her voice that the others could only describe as worry. Rogue and Remy exchanged glances.

"Naw," Rogue replied still attempting to catch her breath, "Are ya sure she didn't beat us here and is already inside?" Cadence pulled a face and sniffed the air.

"No, her scent is not here," Cadence said standing up straight.

"Meybe de p'tite used de front door," Remy offered as he used a nearby wall to steady himself. Rogue snapped her fingers and pulled out her cell phone.

"How 'bout we just call her," Rogue said as she flipped her phone open, "Ah'm sure she's all right." Rogue punched a few buttons and put the device to her ear. Cadence didn't need her acute hearing to hear the recorded message.

"Beep, beep, _beep_. We're sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently outside of the service range. Please hang up and try again later," the automated female voice told Rogue. Shakily Rogue pulled the phone away from her ear as the message repeated.

"Dat is not good," Remy said as his eyes widened and the other two exchanged worried glances. There was silence for a heartbeat or two . . .

"**_LOGAN!_**"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"What do ye mean?" Rahne demanded as she clenched and unclenched her fists underneath the table top.

"I mean precisely that," Peter replied, "He's a murderer." Rahne couldn't believe what this man was saying to her. Her father couldn't be a murderer. He just couldn't; Rahne wouldn't allow it.

"What happened?" she asked calmly as she forced the disbelief down again.

"He killed his wife and tried to kill his only daughter, but luckily the officials got to his house before that happened," Peter replied sadly shaking his head, "The Ministry took the child and placed her in protective custody before they found a good home for her. She was only a year old when it happened." Rahne closed her eyes and fought back the tears that were attempting to surface.

_Maybe he's confused someone else for my father_, Rahne thought hopefully, _I just can't believe that my father would kill my mother. They look so happy in that picture._

"How long ago was it?" Rahne asked. Peter pondered this for a moment.

"About thirteen years ago," He replied, "That would make his daughter about your age now." Rahne grimaced.

"Wot were their names?" she asked her eyes still closed. Peter smiled vindictively; Lupin's daughter was falling for the story hook, line, and sinker. Apparently she hadn't inherited her father's level of intelligence.

"Liona was his wife's name," Peter replied, "She was a lovely woman, kind-hearted, beautiful, and strong. They were Hogwarts sweethearts." Rahne clutched the edge of the table nervously.

"Wot about 'is daughter?" Rahne asked opening her eyes and locking them with Peter's blue eyes, "Wot is 'is daughter's name?"

"If I recall correctly miss," Peter said as he steepled his hands in front of him, "her name is Rahne. Rahne Lupin." Rahne felt her stomach give a painful lurch. She thought she was going to be sick.

_I can't believe it_, she thought sadly. Peter noted her reaction and forced himself to keep up a morose countenance, but inside he was smiling and bursting with joy.

_She bought it_, Peter thought.

"I'm sorry, miss, I don't think you've told me your name," Peter said curiously already knowing the answer, "I dare say you look quite familiar . . ." Rahne was shocked from her morose reverie.

"Uh . . . um . . ." the poor girl was in such a state of shock that she was in a loss for words, "M-m-me name's Rahne. Rahne Sinclair, but Sinclair isn't me real las' name . . . I wos adopted when I wos littol . . . its Lupin." Peter faked a look of shock that was convincing enough for the distraught Rahne.

"That's why you look so familiar," Peter gasped, "My dear, you look just like Liona. Oh, I am so sorry that you had to find out like this. If I had known you were Rahne Lupin, I wouldn't have been so blunt." Rahne just nodded and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

"It's alrioght," Rahne said hastily wiping away her tears, and looking away from Peter out at the rest of the pub. Everyone was as they had been before, but the gnarled man with the electric blue eye was looking at her intently. Almost as if he was attempting to warn her . . .

_Warn me about what_? Rahne thought as the man suddenly rose from his seat. That was the last coherent thought she had before she felt this strange, warm, floating feeling had overtaken her entire body. Rahne felt as if she didn't have a care in the world. She didn't care about finding her father. She didn't care about getting back to the hotel before curfew. She didn't care about what Logan would say about her little display in the street. She just felt good.

No, she felt better than good; she felt like everything in the word was completely and utterly perfect.

_You need to leave_. A little voice was telling her. Part of her wanted to fight it, but Rahne decided that was too much work.

_Grab your bag and hold on to Peter's arm._ Rahne did as she was told, but she was vaguely aware of a distant banging and crashing sound. She didn't really care all that much though.

XXXXXXXXXX

Alastor Moody was not a happy camper. It wasn't that he didn't like doing work for the Order of the Phoenix and his friend Albus Dumbledore. Quite the contrary, he loved the thrill of it. Ever since he had retired from the Auror Department in the ministry, he had regretted it because it left him with nothing to do.

No, the man known as "Mad Eye" was upset, because he hadn't spotted that little rat sooner.

Moody had entered the Leaky Cauldron like he did every night to do observational work for the Order. He took over for Elphias Doge who had the shift before him. He had just crossed the street and was about to enter when two muggle teenagers were walking past arguing about losing someone or something.

"We've searched this entire street twice," one boy complained, "We've lost her."

"C'mon, she might be on the next street over, the filthy mutie," the other one said as they vanished down an alley.

Moody entered the darkened pub discretely as was natural for wizards and witches. He quickly grabbed a table towards the center of the room and pulled out his hip flask to take a pull from it. He began his observation of the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but from all of his years of experience that was his first clue that something was probably wrong. He allowed his eye to swivel around observing everything when something grabbed his attention.

In a corner booth sat a teenaged muggle girl. Moody knew she was a muggle because 1) she wasn't wearing robes or a cloak; 2) she didn't have a wand; 3) she was fiddling with one of those muggle mobile telyfoams; and 4) (this was the tell all) she was looking at the magic being performed in the room like she had never seen anything like it before in her life. Moody quickly noticed that she was talking to someone, but the person had their back to the ex-Auror so he couldn't tell who it might be. His eye swiveled again to the two brats behind him fighting over a stuffed toy.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he growled and the kids immediately shut-up. He allowed his focus to turn back to the muggle girl. Alastor couldn't help but feel like he had seen her before. He studied her carefully as she screwed up her face to keep from crying. Alastor could see that her companion had shifted and he could now see who it was using his magical eye.

_Damn it, Pettigrew,_ Moody thought as he tensed his body in preparation of jumping up out of his seat, _What are you doing out in the open? Who is that muggle girl . . ._ His thoughts were interrupted as he watched the girl talk attempting to get anything from her. She was stuttering and Alastor watched her closely. He was able to pick up 'name', 'Rahne', 'Sinclair', 'adopted', and . . .

"Bloody fuckin' hell," Moody growled as he moved to stand, "Its Lupin's kid." The girl looked over at him one more time and he tried to convey with his eyes for her to get away. She seemed to understand, but then a glassy look overcame her features, a sure sign of an Imperius Curse.

Moody jumped out of his seat as fast as his decrepit body would allow him and began to make his way to where they were seated. He hobbled as fast as he could, but he knew he wouldn't make it there in time. Peter was protected by the large wall of the booth, so Moody couldn't get a shot at him, plus he didn't think Tom would appreciate him firing spells off.

_Fight it girl_, Moody commanded her silently. To his dismay, she was reaching for her bag and Peter's arm. Moody knocked several chairs out of his path with a spell, but it wasn't enough. With a crack, Moody stood horrified that the two had vanished.

"Damn it," Moody growled as he stalked towards the door, "Dumbledore isn't going to like this. Lupin is probably going to kill me. And I'm sure the others will throw their knuts' worth in. Fan-fucking-tastic."


	6. Regrouping

**A/N:** Chapter 6 kids, as written by the lovely Jinxeh. In response to your reviews and the general hatred towards Peter, I'm going to repeat what I said earlier: It's only gonna get worse before it gets better, just don't hate the authors too much! It will keep you on the edge of your seat, that's for sure. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: Regrouping

Rahne had no idea what was happening to her. It was like she was walking through a dream and had no control over what she did or thought. There was a soothing presence inside of her head that she was welcoming with open arms; it was making her decisions for her and although she would have normally found this to be very strange…really she didn't mind it. All of her worries from before, about the things she had just learned, about the boys chasing her…those were all suddenly absent from her head, to been replaced by a feeling of warmth, and even comfort.

Then, suddenly, everything seemed to shift just a bit. She suddenly felt very sick and very small, the colors around her became clear and consistent and she heard the sounds of the goings-on around her. At the same time she suddenly felt as if she had been submerged deep under water; she felt pressure on all sides, her eyeballs suddenly felt as if they were going to burst out of her head and she felt like she was about to expel the contents inside of her stomach.

Then, just as soon as it had begun, it had ended and although she still felt perhaps a bit dizzy, the feeling or warmth and comfort that had before so consumed her was enveloping her softly once more. She would have probably been concerned if she had known that she had just apparated for the very first time, but for the moment she noticed and reacted to nothing.

She did not _want_ to react to anything. For the first time in a very long time she just felt like doing nothing but what she had been told to do. Anything more would be too much work and would not be worth it in the end. She felt as though if she were to try and do anything other than what the voice was telling her to she would lose the good feeling she had, and she most certainly did not want to do _that_…

_Walk_

She heard a comforting voice in her head again and so she did so. She walked, but her grip around the arm of the person she was traveling with loosened. Obviously he took notice of this.

_Keep holding onto Peter's arm_

She blinked and then hesitated for only a moment before she did, fastening her hold on the arm beside her as though using the person walking next to her as a lifesaver against an ocean current. But even as she did, there appeared to be another presence delving its way into her mind, as though cold fingers were prying into her head and dissecting her thoughts.

She began to wonder why it was that she was finding such condolence in listening to the other voice inside of her head. It sounded vaguely familiar, like she knew the person that was telling her to do such things…and the person, she thought, was someone that was not likely to cause her any harm…but there was still a feeling of growing doubt creeping into her mind.

_Why_ was she listening to this voice? Was there something going on that she didn't know about? Suddenly she couldn't remember how she had gotten into this situation, and then everything else came back to her. The last she could remember was being in "The Leaky Cauldron" pub with Peter…and then what?

She was most certainly not in that pub any more. Suddenly everything around her appeared sharper and clearer in her mind and her senses were suddenly returned to their full state of alertness. Now she _knew_ something was wrong now that she could feel the sudden change of awareness that she had just gone through. No longer was she sitting at the dusty wooden table inside of the suspicious pub…now she was walking along with Peter at her side and her pack strapped to her back. Her tennis shoes were quickly soaking through because of the wet grass that they were walking through and a chilly breeze was blowing across her back and cutting through her light jacket.

Ahead of her was a very strange sight; atop the hill that they were currently climbing stood an enormous old house in obvious disrepair; it looked as though it hadn't been painted in decades, all of the shutters were either gone or hanging off of their hinges, the grass around the house was in desperate need of being cut and the whole place…well, candidly it reminded Rahne of the house she had seen when Rogue and Tabby had made her watch "The Addams' Family" last Halloween.

Suddenly Rahne didn't want to walk anymore, as she and Peter were currently heading towards the structure. Her mind was screaming at her to stop and run away from the frightening looking house. But, for some strange reason, she found that it was very difficult to outright stop. She tried to slow her feet and found that she could hardly do that. However, it was possible for her to falter just a bit between steps, and that was something that Pettigrew noticed.

The moment that he looked down and saw the beginnings of a confused expression etching its way across Rahne's face, he knew that she was fighting against the spell he had put upon her. Judging from the fact that she did not seem to realize what was going on he could at least let himself feel some relief that she didn't know that she was doing it. She was fighting against the spell on a subconscious level, allowing for her own worry about all of the things that she had just been told to jolt her back into reality without her even knowing it.

This was a problem that could be solved quickly and easily. Peter pulled out his wand once more, pointed it down at the girl even as they continued to walk, and muttered the correct incantation under his breath. Instantly the expression upon the young Scottish girl's face changed from one of just slight confusion to one of complete comfort and relaxation; her eyes slowly slid out of focus and a strange little smile played along the edges of her lips.

_Keep your hand upon Peter's arm._

She once again tightened her hold on Peter's arm without even a second's hesitation about it. Her footsteps became quicker and steadier not as erratic as they had been before. Peter Pettigrew smiled despite himself and pocketed his wand once more as they drew closer to the decrepit old house before them. He was not sure where he could have taken the girl at first but then inspiration had struck him. Although unsure of how the Dark Lord was going to react, he thought it to be worth it to bring this girl to his attention.

Who knew what use the Dark Lord could find for Rahne Lupin? The girl was, after all, the daughter of one of the men who worked so hard to attempt the downfall of dark magic itself. She could be used as a sort of bargaining chip against The Order of the Phoenix, even! Peter Pettigrew had very few qualms about even thinking of this.

Sure, Remus Lupin had once been his friend…but that was a long time ago, and the way that he had talked to him back at the Shrieking Shack two years ago…well, there was no friendship between them to salvage anyways. The girl meant nothing to Pettigrew.

However…there was always the chance that Lord Voldemort could have found other uses for the girl. No, none would suspect the Dark Lord to control and use a teenaged _muggle_ girl to do his bidding, no matter how horrific the missions he could send her on would have to be. She would be the perfect undercover Death Eater…but that, of course, was not up to Pettigrew to decide. First he would bring the girl to his lord's attention, and then he would decide what to do with her.

As he and Rahne walked into the looming shadow made by the old house by the light of the moon a small smirk could be seen upon the face of Peter Pettigrew.

For once, he believed he had done something right . . .

XXXXXXX

"LOGAN! LOGAN! LOGAN!"

Logan sighed and gritted his teeth, throwing down the newspaper he had been reading while sitting in an armchair in his room and getting to his feet quickly. He should have known that he would have never been able to get a whole hour of free time to himself; not when he was chaperoning a field trip consisting of a bunch of rowdy mutant teenagers anyways…why, just fifteen minutes ago he had been forced to confine Jamie Madrox in his room for trying to buy fireworks from some shady character on the street corner outside of the hotel! It seemed like none of the kids had any common sense at all, they really didn't…

"LOGAN!"

"WHAT?" he exclaimed, wrenching open the door to his room and grabbing onto the collar of Remy LeBeau's trench coat as he was about to run past, forcing him to stop. Cadence and Rogue had been running ahead of him, and upon seeing this they slid to their own stops as well and doubled black. Logan let go of Remy's collar and allowed for him to stumble back a few steps, but not before he had smelled the liquor on his breath.

"Cajun, you been drinkin'?" Logan growled as he stepped out of his room and shut the door with a snap behind him. He crossed his arms and waited with narrowed eyes for a response as Remy began looking very guilty.

"Ah…no?"

"Shut it, Remy," Rogue snapped, stepping on his foot sharply with her heel. Now that Remy was distracted with hopping around on one foot and howling in pain she was free to explain herself to Logan without interruption.

"Um…Logan, ya haven't seen Rahne 'round here, have ya?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He wasn't buying it, and now his steeling glare was directed at her.

"I have told you, I do not smell her around here at all anymore. She has not been here in _hours_!" Cadence tried to protest to Rogue, who was now forcibly ignoring her in favor of Logan's death glare.

"You lost Sinclair, didn't you?" he growled, shaking his head irately and running a hand through his dark hair in his own frustration. Screw Magneto, Sabertooth, Mystique, the Sentinels, and crazy government officals; it was apparent that these kids were eventually going to be the death of him. He sighed once more and crossed his arms as Remy limped over once more to stand beside Rogue and Cadence as if they were all in some sort of lineup. "All right…what happened?"

XXXXXXX

"Un-fuckin'-believeable…" Moody muttered for what seemed like the tenth time in the last five minutes as he stalked up the cracked walkway towards Number 12 Grimmauld Place at a brisk pace. He had just apparated straight from "The Leaky Cauldron" after, of course, he had questioned several of the tavern-goers and Tom, the barman, for any information on the girl that Peter had left with. No one could tell him anything except the manner in which she arrived, which he had already managed to piece together.

The two boys that he had passed before he had entered the pub were apparently chasing the girl for some reason or another, seeing as she had ducked into the tavern like she was being chased by an angry mob according to Tom. Now Moody just had to wonder why…he could remember that the boys had been muttering about finding someone and teaching that same person a lesson, but he couldn't for the life of him remember them mentioning why that was at all…they had called the person something…he couldn't remember the word…perhaps they had referred to the girl as a "menace" or something of the sort? That sounded fairly right…

In other words, he had a lot to think about as he stalked up to the front door to the house and knocked carefully. After waiting a moment the door opened and he was fairly much ushered inside by a harassed-looking Molly Weasley, who shut the door quickly but quietly after he had entered.

"Oh, hello Alastor," she said breathlessly brushing wisps of red hair out of her face after the door was closed. "How nice to see you…I have to go now, we just found a nest of doxies in the parlor room…"

And with that she had bustled her way down the hall and up the stairs towards the second floor without another word towards him. He shrugged; it didn't really matter. He had to have words with someone else at the time anyways; no time for chitchat with Molly. Besides, he didn't envy anyone who had to deal with a nest full of doxies anyways.

When Moody entered the cavernous kitchen at the end of the hallway and down a short flight of stairs he found that it was empty but for a Sirius Black, who appeared to have slunk away from his duties of cleaning for a small while and was currently sitting at the table with his booted feet upon the wooden surface and _The Daily Prophet_ in his hands.

When Moody walked in Sirius jumped a bit and looked ready to bolt from his seat, but when he saw that it was the retired auror and not Molly Weasley he grinned and raised a hand in a lazy sort of salute. He stayed in his seat, but he did take his feet off of the tabletop and put the newspaper down as well.

"'Ello, Mad-Eye," he said cheerily. "Why the long face? You look a little disturbed for someone who went out for a drink…"

"Well I got reason to be," Moody growled. "Where's Lupin?"

"Right behind you," came the answer from the doorway in the voice that Moody could recognize instantly. He turned to see Remus walking through the doorway, wiping his hands off with a damp cloth to rid his fingers of the dirt and dust that had so recently been on them. Upon his entrance, Lupin looked to Sirius disapprovingly, eventually stopping at the head of the table beside Moody.

"Well, good to see you making good use of your time here, reading the newspaper instead of helping us fight against the bewitched robes we found in the wardrobe…"

"I've had enough of my mother's vile surprises for one day, thank you," Sirius muttered darkly, holding up a loosely bandaged hand as he did. Moody was ignoring him now, his strange gaze directed at Lupin, who had just put the cloth down on the table. He seemed more tired than usual…he was very pale even though the month's full moon had already passed, and his eyes seemed more sunken in than Moody could remember seeing…but that was understandable, given what he had been thinking about lately.

"Lupin…listen up," Moody said in a distinct growl, making both men look at him in surprise. They were used to seeing him as never smiling and serious, but right then he looked downright furious about something. "I was jus' at The Leaky Cauldron and I ran in to somebody that we all know, but _damn_ it all that I couldn't catch him."

"Who?" Sirius asked, leaning forwards in his chair with his elbows on the table, quite forgetting that Moody's statement had not been directed to him at all. "Er…if you don't mind me asking, that is," he added hastily, as Moody's magical blue eye suddenly swiveled in its socket and turned to look at him.

"Peter Pettigrew," Moody growled, pulling up a seat at the table opposite of Sirius as Lupin took one right beside the black-haired man. Both men couldn't help but swear in unison under their breaths; they both, of course, had the same feeling of resentment and hatred towards the little rat, though it could be said that Sirius was usually more pissed than angry when he thought of him, "Nasty little rat apparated away 'fore I could do anything about it, though. 'Sides…from where I was sitting I couldn't have very well hit him with a spell without hittin' the person he was talking to as well."

"What, he had another one of Voldemort's cronies along with him for a drink?" Sirius muttered darkly. "Hey, what d'you know? They really do travel in packs…"

"Actually, no…" Moody sighed, "I couldn't believe it when I first saw 'er myself…I thought I was looking right at your Liona, Remus," he said, looking back at Lupin, who was suddenly looking even paler than before. He forced himself to speak, though his voice was not very consistent.

"W-what do you mean, Alastor?" he asked, trying to remain calm. He had just been thinking about _his_ Liona…what could Moody have been on about, saying such things? Then again…lately Remus had been thinking about Liona a lot, so one really couldn't have called Moody bringing her up an outright coincidence, really…

"Remus…I'm sorry ta' be the one to have to tell you this, but I think Peter Pettigrew's got yer kid. Rahne's 'er name, right?"

"Wait…_what_?" Remus asked, aghast at the words that had just come out of the older man's mouth. He stood up instantly, though he kept his hands on the top of the table as though to use them for support. "Well…Rahne, _yes_…but…_what_ is this, now?"

"I saw 'em both in the pub; they were talkin' when I first noticed her. She'd just run in there 'fore I got there…think she was bein' chased or somethin'…anyways, Pettigrew goes over to the table she was at and starts talking to her, and then _I_ recognized him…I caught some of their conversation."

"Wait a minute…are you trying to say that Remus's daughter was talking to Peter Pettigrew in a wizarding pub?" Sirius asked in a somewhat hollow voice. He looked up to Lupin to see that what little color there had been in his face earlier was now completely gone; his eyes were bloodshot, and he was clenching his hands together into such tight fists on top of the table that his knuckles were turning white.

"She left with 'im, too," Moody growled, though there was a trace of regret in his voice. "I tried to warn her and I know I caught her eye at least one but I was too late. He put the Imperius Curse on 'er, made her grab his arm and then apparated away just 'fore I sent a spell his way…I'm sorry, Remus," He added in a quieter growl. He didn't like this new feeling…this feeling of failure.

Lupin stared at him for what seemed like ages before he finally, and slowly, sat down once more in the chair he had so recently vacated. His hands were shaking, but he kept them clasped together atop the table. Sirius was looking at him in concern, which was something that he chose to pretend like he couldn't see. He wished he could pretend like he wasn't hearing any of this as well.

"How do you know that it was my…that it was Rahne?" he asked, using all of the calmness that he could muster to send along with his words. It was like he was trying his damnedest to keep calm but his mind just wasn't going to let him, like an internal battle of wills.

"I tol' you, I caught some of their conversations. They were talking about 'adoptions' and then I heard her say something about a 'Sinclair' or sommat…and then the name 'Lupin' came up and there was no doubt. 'Sides that…Remus, she looks just like Liona. There's no mistaking it."

"No…no, that can't _be_…" Lupin muttered, rising from his chair and shaking his head quickly, "No…she isn't even supposed to be in this _country_…and she'd _know_ it was Pettigrew…his face is so well known, everyone of our kind can recognize him by now and know that he is dead…she wouldn't… no she wouldn't _trust_ him! He's a stranger, she should know better than to talk to strange men in dark pubs! Let alone _leave _with them!"

"I don't think she was going to go with him until he put the curse on her," Moody said heavily. "But…I don't think she was of our kind. She was dressed like a muggle, had one o' those muggle telyfoams and was actually tryin' to _use_ it…and I saw her face when she was looking around the place. Every single thing magical that she saw she looked like she was about to faint. She was downright _muggle_!"

"This can't be…I know she was raised by muggles, but Dumbledore said she would have known about magic even though she is a squib," Lupin muttered, pushing in his chair and beginning to pace back and forth right there in the kitchen. From the fire grate to the kitchen door he paced, wringing his hands together for the lack of anything better to do with them, his movements erratic and shaky.

The thought that his own daughter…in the hands of Peter Pettigrew…no, it just couldn't be true! Not something as _horrible_ as that…God only knew what he wanted her for…oh G_od_, what if…

"No…this can't be right, it _has_ to be some sort of mistake…Rahne's not supposed to _be_ here…Pettigrew isn't supposed to _have_ her!" he said with sudden force, stopping and slamming his fists down on the fireplace mantle as he bowed his head in frustration. He couldn't believe this…he just couldn't allow it, couldn't _accept_ that to be true!

"Remus, calm down!" Sirius said grimly, quickly getting to his feet and walking to his friend, putting a comforting hand on his obviously distressed friend's shoulder. As soon as he did, Lupin turned to face him with fire in his eyes.

"Calm down?" he repeated in disbelief. Sirius took a step back; there had been very few instances in all of the years that Remus and Sirius had known one another that Sirius had never seen the other man become as erratic and furious-looking as he did now. Lupin had been the one to always keep his cool and not let his temper escape with him, after all. But now…he looked about ready to murder somebody. It was quite a frightening thing for Sirius to see, and he didn't envy Pettigrew should Lupin had ever gotten his hands on him.

"Sirius, how exactly do you expect me to _calm down_? My daughter, who is _supposed_ to be in another _country_, is supposedly in the hands of a psychotic traitor who had no qualms about betraying even one of his own best friends to Voldemort! _How_ am I supposed to calm down? Alastor, how could you have let him _escape_?" he demanded furiously.

"Black's right," Moody said roughly, getting to his feet with a slight wince and facing the two men with a slight glare. "No use in gettin' worked up about this; that's not going to help anyone here…"

"Well I am going to _do_ something about this!" replied Lupin seriously. "We have to _find_ her!"

"And we will!" Sirius assured him quickly. "But what do you expect us to _do_, just go out into the London streets and start calling her name in hopes that Pettigrew 'ill bring her back? No, we need a _plan_!"

His words seemed to have an effect on Lupin; at least, he stopped hyperventilating and nodded his head sharply, closing his mouth although he continued to grit his teeth in frustration. He sure as hell had not sent his daughter away from him just so she could get kidnapped by a backstabbing traitor that he had once thought of as a friend…

"You're right," he said finally, nodding his head again and trying his best to stay calm. He was still angry…oh neither of the two had _any_ idea as to how angry he was…but now was not the time. But still…he couldn't help but feel a surge of undisputed anger towards Mad-Eye…the man was supposed to be a genius when it came to taking down Death Eaters, and yet he couldn't even _stun_ Pettigrew, and instead let him get away with his, Lupin's daughter? But no…still, now wasn't the time…"You're absolutely right…Dumbledore. We'll tell Dumbledore…"

Meanwhile, neither of the three men in the room even took notice to the small disturbance taking place at the bottom of the doorway to the room, where a small number of what was known as Extendable Ears were slowly creeping back through the doorway and then up into the air back towards the teenagers that were using them up on the second floor.

XXXXXX

"Let me get this straight," Logan growled, looking at the three mutants that were sitting in front of him with guilty expressions. "So after Sinclair stopped _you_ from killin' the kids, then they started chasin' you?" he asked, directing his question to Cadence with a growl. However, it was not she that answered.

"Yes," Rogue said sullenly, looking to Ororo as she said this. The white-haired weather witch had been called upon when Logan had learned that Rahne was missing, and now all of them were in Logan's hotel room with the younger mutants sitting on the edge of his bed while the older two questioned them. Even though they were both older than Cadence and Rahne were, Remy and Rogue were both suddenly feeling as if they were small children once more, being scolded by their teacher. "And then we all separated in attempt to _lose_ them…"

"And when you all met up back here, that was when you found that Rahne was not with you?" asked Ororo questioningly, shaking her head in dismay. This was just _not_ something that they needed to happen when on a field trip in a distant country…

"Yes," Cadence answered sourly. "And we did try to contact Rahne by means of her phone, but it said that her number was not available to us at the present time…"

"This isn't good," Logan muttered, massaging his face tiredly with his hands. And he _still_ wanted to know why Remy smelled like liquor…

"I shall call the Professor," said Ororo unsurely. "He will be able to locate her and tell us if she is in any danger…"

"No, don't call Chuck," Logan said with a sigh, letting his hands drop to his sides once more. "If we're going to use a psychic to find her, then we'll ask Red to do it. Best let Xavier keep to his business here unless we know we need to call him…"

"You're right," Ororo said in agreement. "Jean just came back a few minutes before they did with Scott. I will go and get her," he said with a nod. A moment later she had opened the door of the room leading into the hallway and left, shutting it once more and leaving the four of them alone in the room. After a moment of pacing Logan stopped and turned to face the younger mutants once more. Or more specifically; he was glaring down at Remy.

"All right Cajun…now how much did you have to drink?"


	7. The Hunt Is On

**A/N:** Sorry this update is coming so late in the day. I spent all day at the Campus Gym helping out with our fencing club's first tournament in a long time. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and fencing is cool. Unfortunately, no one on the team did to well, but it was loads of fun to watch some of these people fence.

This chapter, I believe was written by me (Alexis) if I counted correctly. And please don't be too worried by the end of it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: _Things always get worse before they get better . . ._

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7: The Hunt Is On . . .

"I can't believe it," Ginny murmured from her spot on the oversized bed, "Professor Lupin has a daughter . . ." Currently she and the other teenagers affectionately dubbed the "Order Brats" were gathered in George and Fred's room discussing their newest revelation.

"What's worse," George said in an extremely morose tone that was very unbefitting for his normally jovial attitude, "Pettigrew has got his filthy hands on her . . ."

"Which means," His twin, Fred, carried on in the same dead tone as his brother, "that You-know-who will get her."

"Poor Lupin," Ron said sadly from his seat on top of a closed trunk, "It sounded like he hadn't seen her for years. This had just got to be eating him up . . ."

"Of course it is Ron!" Hermione exclaimed as she began pacing, "From the sounds of it, the poor girl has no clue what kind of trouble she's getting into! The poor thing, she has no way to defend herself!"

"What do you mean, Hermione?" Fred demanded with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Yeah," piped up George, "if she's Lupin's kid, she must be bloody damn good at Defense against the Dark Arts . . ."

"Didn't you two hear what Moody told them?" Ginny asked looking at her brothers like they were the stupidest people on the Earth, "She was in a wizarding place, wearing muggle clothing, attempting to use a muggle device, and looking at magic like she had never seen it done before . . ."

"When he gave her up, he probably put her into a muggle family," Hermione explained, "Meaning that she's probably a squib and has no experience with magic at all."

"That doesn't make sense though," Ron said utterly confused, "Lupin is a powerful wizard despite the fact that he's a werewolf. This Liona had to be a witch, how else would he be able to get away once a month to transform without causing alarm."

"It happens, Ron," Ginny said softly, "Squibs can happen in any magical bloodline even in ours. You know that second cousin of ours, the accountant . . ."

"I feel really bad for the bloke," Fred said softly, "But wait just a tick, why wasn't she with her mum? For that matter, where is Mrs. Lupin?"

"What are the lot of you talking about?" a stern voice said from the doorway. All of the Weasley children sat up a little straighter and turned towards the door sheepishly.

"Hi mum," the red-haired children chorused trying to maintain an innocent look. Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, was not fooled and looked at her children sternly.

"I am not going to repeat myself," she said harshly crossing her arms. The teenagers exchanged dark looks.

"You see . . ." Fred began slowly.

"It's like this mother . . ." George continued for his twin.

"We were on our way to the kitchen . . ."

"To get a few more rags for dusting . . ."

"Because we remembered that you had . . ."

"Asked us to dust the front sitting room . . ."

"At midnight?" Mrs. Weasley asked skeptically.

"Of course!" Both of the twins exclaimed before George continued.

"And being the good sons that we are . . ."

"We decided that doing it with dirty rags . . ."

"Wouldn't be a good idea . . ." the twins said together.

"We were about to go into the kitchen . . ." George broke off.

"When we heard people talking in raised voices . . ." Fred carried on.

"Deciding that it wouldn't be a good time to enter . . ."

"We waited outside the door for the argument to finish . . ."

"In doing so, we happened to overhear what was being said . . ."

"Hand over the Extendable Ears," Mrs. Weasley said extending her hand. The boys groaned and places several fleshy colored things in her hand. "Now what did you hear?"

"Well, mum . . ." George said unsurely and looked at his twin for support.

"Apparently Lupin has a daughter . . ." Fred continued. Mrs. Weasley didn't look surprised.

"And Moody watched helplessly as Peter Pettigrew kidnapped her," the boys concluded together. Mrs. Weasley turned as white as a sheet and put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh dear," she muttered before racing away, probably in the direction of the kitchen.

"Well," Fred said brightly, "I think she took it rather well . . ."

Molly Weasley raced through the house until she finally reached the kitchen, panting and out of breath. The three men standing in there looked at her oddly.

"Is something wrong, Molly?" Sirius asked with concern, hoping that they wouldn't fall victim to even more bad news.

"No," she said taking a deep breath as she looked at each of them, "The children overheard you talking. Remus, is it true? Did he really take Rahne?" Remus sighed sadly.

"Yes," he said softly, "she's gone. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore now about it." He said clasping his cloak about his shoulders.

"I am so sorry Remus," Molly said gently laying a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure she will be alright. Her parents are strong people; there is no doubt in my mind that she takes after you and Liona." Remus gave her a weak smile and a quick hug.

"Thank you, Molly," he said gratefully, "I'm off to see Albus now." He made towards the door.

"Moony," Sirius called and his friend looked back, "Try not to worry too much. I'm sure Rahne is giving Peter hell right about now."

XXXXXXXXXX

"If ye don' open this bloody, fucking door right now, Wormtail, I swear to all things good 'n mighty on God's green Earth that I will castrate ye in the mos' painful manner possible ever to 'ave been devised by the human mind," Rahne screamed at the top of her lungs as she beat on the locked door with her fists and kicked it with her feet, "Then I'll take yer man bits and feed 'em to savage, wild dogs. Af'er 'at, I'm gonna use a dull spoon to rip yer eyes from their sockets and feed 'em to the ravens at the Tower of London. I'll then use 'at same dull spoon to rip out that black, lying heart of yers ya bleedin', backstabin', good fer nothin' bastard of a man! Yer nothing but a filthy, blighter, naff, bullying toerag ye are!" Rahne gave the door one last good kick before sinking dejectedly to the floor.

After Peter had led her to the defunct house, he proceeded to lock her in a small dark room with no windows, light, and only one rickety door that was locked and barricaded from the outside. She had sat in blissful, warm, happy silence for all of about two minutes before the spell (she realized now that he _had_ to have put a spell on her in order for her to go with him) had worn off leaving cold, in the dark, confused, and extremely angry. Since that moment, she had been unrelenting in her tirade of threats, insults, and beating on the door, which, she guessed, she had been doing for over half an hour.

The only things she had to show for her efforts were an extremely hoarse voice, sore throat, and bruised hands and feet. She gingerly probed her hands and felt a familiar warm sticky substance; she had no need for light to know what it was. Rahne carefully ripped two strips of cloth from her jacket and tied one around each of her hands. With a defeated air, she let the quiet darkness envelop her.

XXXXXXXXX

"YOU LOST RAHNE!" Scott demanded once he and Jean had been filled in on the situation. He was currently yelling at Remy because (as Scott had seen it) he had been the oldest therefore, he was supposed to be the responsible one, "AND YOU'RE COMPLETELY SMASHED! WHAT KIND OF ROLE MODEL ARE YOU, GAMBIT?"

"Keep it down, _homme_," Remy moaned clutching his temples, "Remy feels like mon head is goin' ta explode." Scott scoffed darkly.

"Serves you right," he snarled as he crossed his arms angrily. The others in the room just shook their heads. Ororo turned to Jean.

"The last place that Rahne was known to be was on Whitechapel Road," Ororo said calmly to Jean, "Just a block south from New Road. Perhaps you can focus your search in that area and slowly spread out from there." Jean nodded.

"Should be easy enough," Jean replied putting her hands to her temples, "Rahne's signature stands out and should be easy to find." The older red-head closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

She allowed her mind to open up, and she could see the spot where the fight had begun. She broadened her search looking for any brainwaves belonging to mutants. She began to pull back. In her mind's eye, she felt like she began floating higher and higher above the city, allowing more signatures to come into her view. The only problem was that they were all human . . .

_Wait, what was that?_ She asked herself as she redirected her attention. She came across and odd phenomenon that she couldn't explain. She noted the location of the anomaly before she closed her mind back down. She opened her eyes and looked at the others in the room.

"Well, Red," Logan began gruffly, "did you pick up on anything?" Jean nodded.

"Yes, but . . ." she paused looking for the words, "but it was weird."

"Weird how, Jean?" Ororo asked fearing that something horrible had befallen one of her younger students.

"Well, it is nothing like I have ever seen before," Jean attempted to explain, "Like, it was her mental signature, but an echo or ghost of the original. Like she had been at that place and suddenly ripped away leaving only a trace behind. I really don't know how to explain it properly."

"Like she teleported?" Scott offered. Jean shrugged unsurely.

"Kind of," Jean began, "but when Kurt teleports, he doesn't leave a psionic echo in the place he teleported from."

"Perhaps it is another mutant," Ororo said calmly, "They may have seen Rahne's plight and helped her escape . . ."

"But that means that she should have been back by now," Logan said gruffly as he stood from his seat and immediately began to take charge, "'Ro, stay here just in case she finds her way back. I'll have my cell; call if she does make it back. Shades, Red, Gumbo, Stripes, and Girl you lot are coming with me. We're going to go check out the place where Red saw the 'echo.'" Logan grabbed his black leather biker jacket and headed out the door followed by Scott, Jean, Remy, Rogue, and Cadence. Once they were out on the street in front of the building Logan turned to Jean.

"Which way Red?" he asked as she pulled on a black cord jacket to keep out the chill. The telepath closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated.

"That way," she pointed down and alley and Logan started at quick walk in the direction that she pointed. The others followed him in a straight line as he led them through the back-ways of London at Jean's instruction. Finally they came out on another main thoroughfare and Logan came to a stop. He took a quick sniff of the air and so did Cadence.

"She was here," Cadence announced to the group. Logan grunted in assent.

"And she was scared out of her mind," Logan growled as he continued to follow his nose. The group made their way down the street following Logan's nose. Jean did another quick mental scan before coming to a halt and looking directly across the street. Logan and Cadence came to a stop next to her.

"What is it Jean?" Scott asked as the others joined the three trackers.

"The 'echo' is right over th-. . ." Jean tried pointing across the street, but her gaze turned and she stopped talking. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"Is somet'ing wrong Jeanie?" Gambit asked unsurely. Jean looked utterly puzzled.

"No," she insisted, "Rahne's echo is coming from that shop over the-. . ." Once again, her gaze shifted and she was looking down the street.

"Ya mean that yar powahs are leadin' ya ta the-. . ." Rogue tried to say but she too averted her gaze unwillingly.

"Yes!" Jean exclaimed, "Over ther-. . ." And again, she looked away. The other four who were with them were completely confused at the girls' behavior. Getting frustrated Logan began to growl.

"Stop playing around," he ordered. The southern Goth and the northern prep exchanged glances. Suddenly Jean snapped her fingers.

"Look at the shops along the opposite side of the street," Jean said pointing to one end, "I want you to say the name of each shop as your eyes land on it. Then you'll see what's going on."

"Fine," Logan grunted looked at one of the farthest shops to the left, "The Gap, JJB Sports, Coincraft, Borders, uhherum, Tower Records . . ."

"Stop," Jean and Rogue both commanded. Everyone was looking at Logan before looking back to the two girls.

"That was really weird," Scott said before he too did the same thing Logan had done, only silently to himself, "It's like you're eyes are pulled away from whatever that place is."

"And that is where Rahne's echo is coming from," Jean said firmly.

"But if our eyes and voices don't want to acknowledge that it's there," Cadence reasoned out loud, "how do we get in? For that matter how did Rahne get in? This surely is not normal is it, father?" Logan furrowed his brows.

"No, kid," Logan growled, "That ain't normal by any stretch of the imagination. Rahne what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Any ahdeas?" Rogue asked aloud at each person kept attempting to look at the shop that their eyes seemed to just glide over.

"Oui, Remy has an idea," the Cajun said as he looked down the street in both directions. Seeing the coast was clear, he crossed the street. The others watched as he attempted to keep going in a direct and straight line toward the strange shop. He would only waver a little bit before forcing himself to look back at the hidden shop. To their utter disbelief, he reached the shop and appeared to have vanished.

"I get ya, Gumbo," Logan said after they had stood in stunned silence for a few moments, "You have to force yourself in its direction. C'mon." Logan and the other four began to walk across the street trying to keep their focus on the shop and not letting their gaze wander. To their relief, they finally reached a door and stepped inside.

XXXXXXX

Remus began weaving his way through the small burg of Hogsmeade before coming to the gates of the massive Hogwarts castle. Not hesitating for a moment, he passed through the gate and made his way towards the imposing structure at a sprint pace. Going quickly up the steps and through the main entrance, Remus paused for a moment to catch his breath. As soon as he was no longer gasping for air, he worked his way through the halls until he came upon a familiar stone gargoyle statue.

"Lemon drop?" Remus tried, the statue didn't move, "Sugar Quills," still no luck, "Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Blood Sucker, Fizzing Wizzbees, Cockroach Cluster . . ." Nothing was opening the passage to the Headmaster's office and Remus was getting quickly frustrated when . . .

"Jawbreaker," a familiar voice said from behind him. Remus didn't have to look to know that Albus Dumbledore had that little, ever-present grin on his face and that laughing glimmer in his eye.

"Jawbreaker?" Remus couldn't help but ask as he turned to face the older man who just chuckled.

"An interesting Muggle confection," Albus explained, "quite similar to a Lemon Drop, but bigger and not quite as sour. To what do I owe this sudden drop in, Remus?" The werewolf let out a tired sigh.

"It's Rahne," he said and the Headmaster's eyebrows shot up to his hair line in disbelief.

"She is in Scotland, Remus," Dumbledore said firmly, "I checked up on her just a month ago. She seemed to be fine, albeit a little downtrodden about something, but she was still in the Sinclair household." Again Remus sighed.

"Well something must have happened during that month," Remus explained, "because she was in London and somehow found her way into the Leaky Cauldron," again the eyebrows of the elder man shot up in disbelief.

"But, I am certain she is a squib," Albus stated as his bushy eyebrows furrowed, "How did . . . there's more isn't there, Remus."

"Yes," Remus nodded sadly, "It was Alastor's turn to watch the pub for any suspicious activity. He didn't see her until it was too late," the weary man sighed heavily, "Albus, Pettigrew took her." Saying the words had a profound effect on the already broken man. He suddenly began to sob uncontrollably as he sunk to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Something deep within Albus stirred as he comforted the normally mild-mannered man.

"We will get her back, Remus, I can assure you that," Albus said firmly as Remus's sobs died down, "First we need to figure out why and how she came to be in London. As soon as the hour is decent enough, we will go to the Sinclair farm and talk with Craig and Amelia." Remus nodded as Albus helped him to his feet.

"Thank you, Albus," Remus said softly which caused the elder man to smile.

"It is not a problem at all, Remus," Dumbledore said kindly, "You seem to forget that she _is_ my goddaughter and her well-being is of my concern as well. Come now, you look exhausted. You may sleep in one of the extra teacher's apartments, follow me."

XXXXXX

". . . and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," Rahne prayed softly to herself as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She was very scared and sat on the floor of the small dark closet. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she wrapped her arms around her knees and was rocking forwards and backwards. She let out a choked sobbed.

"I wan' ta go home," she whimpered to no one in particular, "I wan' ta see Logan, and Hank, and Storm, and the professor again. I miss Cadence . . . I miss me whole family . . ." She buried her face into her knees and continued to cry. She had tried everything within her power to escape her small dark prison, but it was all to no avail. She was still stuck in the same dark hellhole she had been for the past few hours.

She was beginning to think that Peter was some psycho killer and that he had left her in this closet to rot for the rest of her natural life. She laughed dryly to herself, she was probably right. A distant sound caused her to perk up he ears. She stopped crying and listened intently. It was footsteps, about three pairs of them, coming towards her. She stretched out her legs and stood up, immediately dropping into a battle stance. Whoever it was had a very angry, shape-shifting, teenaged mutant coming their way. As Rahne stood tensed in the darkness, she heard as a mumbling sound became distinct words.

". . . Wormtail, this had better be worth it," a cold high pitched voice demanded. His voice sent shivers down Rahne's spine, but not as much as what he said next:

"Because if it isn't, I will not hesitate to kill you and whoever it is you want to show me."

Rahne's eyes widened in panic and she took a deep breath to calm her out of control nerves. The voices and footsteps continued to get closer.

"M-m-m-my Lord," the familiar voice of Peter stammered, "I-I-I think you will be m-m-m-most p-p-pleased with what I have to s-s-s-show you." Rahne was shocked. No longer was he the confident, cool mannered man she had met in the pub. He was now a cowering, stuttering servant with seemingly no backbone.

"My Lord," a second unfamiliar voice spoke, "Peter has never been able to do anything right. He is nothing but a bumbling idiot." This voice was cold and had a sneering quality to it that Rahne instantly hated.

"Now we know that is not completely true," the cold high pitched voice replied, "He's done a few things right in his miserable life . . ." Rahne couldn't take any more, so throwing caution into the wind she decided to let her presence be known.

"Ye bloody fuckin' bastards," She yelled and pounded on the door, "Let me out of 'ere this instant or I'll . . ."

"Or you'll what?" the sneering voice asked, "My dear you aren't exactly in a position to be making threats."

"Trust me, bub," Rahne said using one of Logan's favorite expressions, "this is one little _pup_ that ye don' want ta piss off." She was startled when the cold cruel voice began to laugh.

"I must say, Peter," he laughed, "Whoever she is she has obviously no clue who she is talking to . . . did you bring me here to show me some muggle girl?" The last question was asked with a tinge of simmering anger that made Rahne almost feel sorry for Peter.

Almost.

"M-m-m-my Lord," Peter stammered sensing the obvious threat in the man's voice, "I k-k-know that she isn't a witch, but her lineage was my source of interest in her . . ."

"Bloody 'ell," Rahne muttered as she realized that they were probably going to hold her for ransom or as a hostage, "Fuck this." Rahne transformed into her half-girl, half-wolf form and threw herself at the door. She was happy to find that the extra weight of her feral form caused the entire doorframe to creak and groan.

_And I didn't think of this before because . . ._ she mused to herself as she slammed her heavier body against the door again.

"What is she doing?" the sneering voice demanded obviously to Peter. Silence hung for a few moments.

"I-I-I don't know," Peter stammered, "She is a petite girl. There's no way she could do that much damage . . ." Rahne's response to that was a low feral growl.

"Tell me now of her lineage," the first voice demanded as Rahne threw her body at the door again. She could hear someone approaching the door.

"She is the sole daughter of Remus and Liona Lupin," Peter said and Rahne could hear him smiling as he said it. Silence hung outside the closet for a few moments before Rahne rammed her shoulder into the door again.

"Really," the first voice said completely bemused. It was weird to hear such a cold voice be filled with that much entertainment, "Girl what is your name." Rahne just growled in response.

"Her name is Rahne, My Lord," Peter responded when Rahne slammed against the door again. Suddenly there was a screeching sound, like something heavy being moved across the floor. The cold voice then shouted, "_Alohomora!_" Rahne then heard the sound of the door unlocking.

"You can come out now, Rahne," the cold voice said venomously. Rahne smiled, or at least smiled as much as her slight muzzle would allow her too. With her foot, she nudged the door and it swung open with a long eerie creak. She stared out into the candlelit room as she stayed back in the shadows of the closet.

She quickly spotted Peter, he was off to her right and had his wand out, but it was trembling with fear. Rahne could smell it rolling off of him. There was a second man to Peter's left, and he too had his wand pulled out, but it wasn't shaking. Despite that Rahne could still smell his fear.

This man hand long, straight blonde hair that ended at his upper back. He had cold, questioning blue eyes and the most horrific looking sneer on his face. He, like Peter, was dressed in all black robes, but his looked like they were tailor made to fit him perfectly. Rahne quickly scanned the room for the last person.

He stood off to her right and had a very slender, yet still imposing figure. He too was clothed in black robes, but his were hooded. At the current moment in time, his hood was pulled up and cast dark shadows over his face and obscuring his features. Rahne took a quick sniff of the air once more and what she found startled her. Instead of fear, this last man smelled of amusement.

"Come on out, Rahne," the cold high pitched voice invited again. Rahne instantly detected that it was coming from the hooded figure. She immediately assumed that he was, by far, the most dangerous one of the group. Rahne let out another low growl as she stepped out of the closet in her feral form.

"Merlin!" the blonde exclaimed taking a step back and held his wand out further. Rahne let out a low gruff sounding chuckle.

"S-s-s-s-she's a w-w-w-w-w-werewolf!" Peter stammered as he too took several steps back. The hooded man laughed.

"I don't think so Peter," he taunted, "There is no full moon tonight. Although I must say that I am rather curious as to how she changed into that form . . ." Rahne had had enough and without warning lashed out at the hooded man with her claws. He jumped back just in time to allow her claws to slash at the material and rip it.

"_Crucio_," the hooded man yelled as he pointed his wand at Rahne. She immediately fell to the floor and whimpered as the sudden pain of the curse washed over her. It felt like her veins were on fire, that thousands of white-hot knives were piercing her skin. Her vision clouded and she saw stars as she felt like her limbs were going to be torn unceremoniously from her body. She howled in pain. It was so bad that she lost control of her abilities and morphed back into her regular human form and her howl melted into a young girl screaming in pain and agony.

As swiftly as the pain had come, it was gone. Whimpering, Rahne raised herself from her collapsed position on the floor to being on her hands and knees and glaring up at the hooded figure.

"Tell me," he asked and she could hear the amusement in her voice, "do you have the ability to change your form at will, Rahne?" Rahne spat at him and growled.

"Go ta 'ell," she snarled determined to not let the man in the cloak win. She could almost see him smirk.

"_Crucio_," he said almost happily and Rahne was once more writhing on the ground in pain and screaming her lungs out. Finally the pain stopped. She looked up at the man with the utmost hatred in her eyes. He let out a cold chuckle before turning his gaze, "Lucius, I want you to go to Spinner's End and retrieve some Veritaserum from Severus, then go directly into my inner chambers immediately." The blonde man nodded and vanished with a crack. He looked back at Rahne.

"This won't hurt a bit my dear," he said as he raised his wand and leveled it at her, "_Stupefy._"

Rahne's entire world slipped into a sudden darkness.


	8. A Mutant?

**A/N (Part 1):** Wow, I almost forgot it was time to update and post the next chapter. I'm sure that would have made several of you quite angry. Let me just say that I've been having a crazy, _crazy, **crazy**_ day. I somehow got roped into being a banner carrier for one club for our College's Homecoming Parade this morning. The crazy thing is that I'm not even in the club; I just taught them how to march . . .

Any who, enough of my excuses. Here is chapter eight as written by the wonderful Jinxeh. Who, by the way, is in the process of writing Chapter 16 (I do hope that is going well for you). So as always, enjoy and leave lots of nice review!

.:Alexis:.

* * *

Chapter 8: A Mutant?

"No! Her name is Rahne!" exclaimed Rogue through gritted teeth, glaring at the man across her from on the other side of the counter with such a look of spiteful vehemence that it was apparent that she meant business, "Fourteen years old! Red hair! Talks with this dorky Scottish accent! Have ya _seen_ her?" she asked for what seemed to be the fifteenth time. The man just blinked at her in confusion.

"Lotsa people come in 'ere, missy," he said evenly, "It's not my job to keep track of 'em all."

It seemed like the mutants had hit a dead end in their search. The moment they had all entered into what they now knew was The Leaky Cauldron, things had gone from bad and weird, to worse…and downright bizarre. Rogue seemed to be one of the only mutants who didn't find themselves rooted to the spot while staring around them in shock besides Logan and Jean.

Cadence and Remy were standing in one of the corners, their eyes wide for different reasons as they surveyed the scene around them: The broomstick that was sweeping up the floor of its own accord, the wash cloth cleaning mugs on its own behind the counter next to the almost toothless old barman, and even the bizarre-looking people sitting at the counter and the various tables. Cadence couldn't fit it into her previous training and Remy just couldn't believe it. Scott was pacing around in front of the counter beside Rogue, waiting impatiently for her to finish talking to the man behind the counter.

Logan was walking around the large place slowly, his nostrils moving rapidly as he searched for any scent of the Scottish girl. He had been able to pick up her unique scent outside, but it was barely distinguishable in this place. So many people went in and out of it that it was no wonder he could barely smell her anymore. Logan couldn't help but sense the strong scent of cinnamon; it was so overpowering it almost wanted to make him hurl.

Jean was walking around at about the same pace as Logan, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set into a grim frown. She was searching in vain for the missing girl, and her mind was pulling her back towards the doorway of the pub; or more specifically, towards the table in the nearest corner towards it. She reached it at about the same time that Logan did. Luckily, there was no one sitting at it.

"She was right here," Logan growled, narrowing his eyes at the empty space. "I can smell 'er…but…she was with someone," he added with a distinct tone of distaste. Whoever this person was that she had been with, he didn't like his scent one bit. Jean frowned and gazed down at the seat nearest to the corner.

"I can sense her…it's like she was here recently, and left a small part of her behind…" she said, not even trying to mask her confusion. "She was right…here…and then it's like she just disappeared," she added, pointing to a spot a couple of feet away from the table.

"This ain't good…" Logan sighed. "An' the most I can get from anyone here was that there was some kinda ruckus over here. But by the time they turned around there wasn't nothin' to see…"

"Do you think she was kidnapped, then?" Jean asked uncertainly. This whole thing didn't make sense…the pub they were in, the people around them…and why would anyone want to kidnap a fourteen-year-old mutant girl?

"I don't know what to think," answered the gruff mutant man with the shake of his head. "Frankly, this whole place is confusin' me. Look around ya, at that broom and those clothes…and these people, for god's sake…the cinnamon…"

"These people aren't mutants, are they?" Jean asked, turning around once more to observe the place that they were in. The only explanation that she could come up with was that they had somehow found themselves stumbling into some sort of mutant haven…but then why couldn't they even read the name of the place above the door when they were standing outside, on the street?

"_Non_…dese people ain't mutants," answered a somewhat surly voice, though this time it wasn't Logan who answered her. Both turned to see that Remy and Cadence had sauntered up, Cadence still looking around in suspicion, while he was hunched over, his eyes narrowed and his hands thrust in his pockets. "Dey ain't what ya'd think dey are, either…"

"You know somethin' about this, Cajun?" Logan growled his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the still slightly tipsy Cajun man. Remy shrugged and looked over his shoulder at Rogue, who was still arguing with the barman by the counter before answering.

"_Non_…not about Rahne, anyways. I t'ink I know who dese people are, though," he said in a quiet voice.

It had come to Remy on the streets of what "The Leaky Cauldron" might have been, though he had been reluctant to voice his opinion to the others. He was sure that they would have thought him to be completely insane, if not still drunk…and then what if he had been wrong about it? They would have never let him live that one down, and he knew it.

But then he had walked in and seen all of the strange things going on, like the strangely-dressed people who had given the mutants wary glances when they had walked in, and the way all of the cleaning supplies were doing their jobs without any help from anyone…yes, it had to be what he had first thought.

'_Well I'll be_,' he thought sourly. '_Dat Bill Weasley wasn't no joke den_…'

Meanwhile, Rogue had become very fed-up with the barman. Eventually she pulled a pen from the black little belt-purse hanging loosely around her waist and grabbed a cloth napkin from a stack beside her on the counter. Scott stopped pacing and turned around with a worried expression on his face, his sunglasses flashing dangerously. He was no doubt a little concerned about Rogue and her temper when thinking of the barman.

"Here," she said furiously, scribbling three different phone numbers onto the cloth despite the look the barman was giving her for defiling his napkin, "I'm writin' these down for ya, okay? The first one's Logan's cell number like it says, and he's the man standing over there threatening the man with the red hair. The second is the cell number for a woman named Ororo; she's a friend of ours. The third's to the hotel where we're staying; just ask for the Xavier group and they'll put ya through," she said, finishing the last number and slamming the napkin down in front of Tom.

He took it daintily and stared at the numbers with a blank expression for a moment before he looked up at the southern Goth in confusion.

"And what do you expect me to do with this?" he asked bleakly. Rogue sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair, forcing herself not to go off and pummel the guy right then and there, no matter how old he was.

"If ya hear anything about the girl, Rahne, then ya need to _call_ us," she said between gritted teeth. "Ask around and stuff, all right? There's a missin' girl out there, and we need ta _find_ her," she said in more of a threatening way than a worried one. "If ya hear anything, then call," she added before stalking away and leaving him standing there with the napkin. Scott looked at Tom in pity for a moment before he followed her.

"What are you talkin' about, Cajun?" asked Logan dangerously as Rogue and Scott rejoined the small group, everyone looking at the Cajun as they waited for him to answer. Remy didn't answer at first; he glanced around the bar once and then around to the faces of those mutant around them. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark reddish-brown hair, looking straight at Logan as he spoke.

"Well…Remy can't be too sure a' dis…but he t'ink dat dese people here might be wizards."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rahne's home was not at all like what Remus had first expected. He had known, of course, the whereabouts of his daughter's location during her earlier years with her foster parents, but had never been there himself to see it. Afraid that he would be followed and caught, he had entrusted Albus Dumbledore to take Rahne for him. He had never met her adoptive parents before in his life, but from what the elder professor had told him they were pleasant people, and could be trusted.

Apparently the man, Craig, was a squib whereas his wife, Amelia, was a muggle, through and through. It had been known since they were married that Amelia was unable to have children, though they had wanted one so badly…so it was lucky for them that Craig was an acquaintance of Dumbledore himself. Uncaring of Rahne's werewolf parentage, they took her in with the promise of raising her as their own.

Their house was pleasant seeming that morning as Remus and Dumbledore strode towards it across their front lawn. Set apart, but not too much so, from a large Scotland town it had a farm-like quality to it, with lovely country scenery; surrounded by fields and other farms in the distance.

The house was a small two-level style white farm house with black shutters and a grey-slated roof. Next to it stood an enormous red barn bigger than the house was, with twin silos set apart from it on the other side. There were a half-dozen grey and white chickens walking around in front of the barn, pecking at the gravel driveway in hopes of finding spilt corn and pellets and an ancient-looking bloodhound was sitting on the nicely-furnished wooden front porch, nestled in the shade of the large hanging ferns. It was definitely a farm, but a nice one at that.

Remus couldn't help but stare at everything as they went past, just imagining that his own daughter, his own flesh and blood, had walked in the same places as he. She had played on the tire swing hanging from the large tree in the front yard. She had walked up and down the wooden front steps more times than he could have imagined. She had played in that same grassy front yard when she had been just a little toddler.

He fought back the lump in his throat as they walked across the driveway and made their way up the front steps, their steps creaking dangerously on the wooden boards, though it still seemed sturdy enough. The bloodhound lifted its head just slightly as they walked up to the front door and stared at them for a moment with sad brown eyes. Seeming to decide that they weren't important enough to bark at, it lowered its head once more and fell back asleep.

Dumbledore knocked sharply on the white-painted door and then stepped back next to Remus. He waited patiently for someone to arrive and answer it, his face showing that he thought nothing at all to be wrong. Remus was wringing his hands together nervously; unsure of what he was going to say to these people when he saw them.

He felt a stab of jealousy when he even thought of that. These people had been blessed with raising his child…and there he was, the father, and he had been forced to give her up when she had only been a year old. They had been there for her during her childhood and he never had. He wondered what Rahne thought of him…if she ever thought of him at all, that was…

Finally they heard footsteps approaching the doorway and a moment later there was a creaking sound as the inside screen door was pulled open, and then the front door. A woman stood there, looking between the two wizards with a confused expression, her tired eyes blinking wildly as she struggled to see them better in the bright morning light. Her dark red hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and her green eyes were bright, but she looked as if she had woken up not too long ago. She wore a pair of grey sweatpants and a loose blue sweater under a loosely-tied burgundy night robe.

Finally she seemed to recognize Dumbledore, and she smiled at him before pulling the door open and stepping back to allow him admittance, which he took. Remus followed right after him, not being able to help but glance again at Rahne's adoptive mother as he passed.

He was now standing in a small but nice kitchen, on a polished hardwood floor. The cabinets were stained wood and the walls were painted white, with yellow and red tiling with a pattern of chickens and pigs. There was a round wooden table in the room connected to the kitchen, and at that table sat a man who looked like he had been in the middle of reading a newspaper when Dumbledore had knocked on the door. He had sandy brown hair and pleasant brown eyes, with tanned skin and visible lines on his face; crows-feet in the corner of his eyes, and laugh lines around his mouth. He seemed like a person that would be enjoyable to be around, even on first glance.

"Albus, what a pleasure ta see ye again!" he said, his accent thick as he stood and shook Dumbledore's hand as he walked up to them. "Wasn't expectin' ye around anytime soon, though…" he added in a slightly confused tone as he let go of his hand and stood up all of the way, walking away from his chair.

"Can I get you some coffee, or tea?" asked Amelia doubtfully, sidling up next to her husband. She cast a glance over to Remus, unsure of who this strange man in his tattered robes was, but was polite enough not to outright ask.

"No…no thank you, Amelia," said Dumbledore pleasantly, "though you yourselves may wish to sit down. There is a matter of importance of which we should discuss."

Lupin had to admire the way that Dumbledore could get people to do what he wanted them too, even in their own homes. Amelia and Craig Sinclair took their seats at the wooden table, and he and Dumbledore sat across from them.

"Is there something wrong?" Craig asked uncertainly, being the first person to break the short and uneasy silence. He might not have had the keen senses that his adoptive daughter did, but even he could tell that something was wrong. The man with Dumbledore seemed to be very fidgety, and even the professor himself had a worried look in his light blue eyes.

"Yes, actually," Dumbledore said sadly. "I hate to question your parenting and all…but do you have any idea as to where Rahne is right now?" he asked, deciding to get right to the point. He observed, with a small amount of interest, the way Amelia's face suddenly and very rapidly paled, while Craig's eyes suddenly took on a rather worried look to them.

"Well…oh dear…" said Amelia doubtfully, but then suddenly looking relieved, "Wait…of course ye wouldn't _know_, now would ye? Rahne's in America right now, dontcha know? She's goin' ta school there now, a school for the gifted, too," she added, with a certain amount of pride after a moment of hesitation. "The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, it's called."

For some reason, Remus felt a small wave of pride because of this as well. His daughter was going to a school for the gifted? But why had Amelia hesitated at first before telling them.

"We should 'ave told ye the last time ye were here, Albus," added Craig hastily. "But we weren't completely sure then if we were going ta allow her ta go back. She certainly wanted ta…she was rather sad when we pulled her out the first time. If ya do remember, the last time ya came she was a bit glum. But we decided that it was a good opportunity fer her education. Is that why yer here? Ye didn't know she was in America is all?"

Dumbledore, however, shook his head, dashing the Sinclair's hopes that he had simply not known about her American education. Amelia had thought that he thought her to be missing, not knowing of her leaving the country.

"No…I am asking this because recently; well, yesterday actually, she was spotted in London by a former auror that I know very well."

"Oh…that," said Amelia, waving a hand dismissively, "Yes, Rahne had called us up the day before. Told us she was goin' on a field trip ta London…but we didn't think it was going ta be that soon," she added with a frown. Why hadn't her daughter told her that the trip was planned to be that soon? It all seemed to be somewhat rushed in her opinion…

"No...actually she was spotted in The Leaky Cauldron," said Dumbledore, this time looking straight at Craig, who suddenly seemed very pale. No matter if he lived in London or not, he knew of the tavern. It was one of the central ways to get into Diagon Alley, after all. But why would Rahne have been there? That was a wizarding place, and he had never hinted about magic to her before…

"I…I see," said Craig nervously. Amelia obviously had no idea what was going on; she was looking between all of the men quickly, from her ashen-faced husband to the professor that he knew, and then to the stony-faced and grim-seeming chap sitting next to him who had yet to utter a single word.

"Wot's wrong?" she asked quickly, her heart pounding in her chest in fear. Was something wrong with Rahne? "Sweetie, wot is it?"

"The Leaky Cauldron is a wizarding pub, Amelia," said Craig tiredly, lowering her eyes to the table and thinking hard. "But…but that doesn't make _sense_! Rahne don't know nothin' 'bout the magical world! We never told 'er anything…so how could she 'ave wound up there?" he asked in confusion.

"Just as you, a squib, can see such things as Dementors and magically guarded buildings, Craig," said Dumbledore patiently, not even looking over to Remus, who had suddenly clenched his jaw, "Rahne too can see such things. Her parents were a witch and a wizard, and although you yourself have stated that she has shown no sign of magic, she can obviously see such things too.

"What _concerns_ me about this, is that when my auror friend walked in to the pub and spotted Rahne she appeared to be very distressed. She was attempting to use a muggle telephone and seemed positively frantic that it would not work. She was also much disheveled and out of breath. All signs pointed to the fact that she was recently being pursued, though by whom we do not know."

"Rahne? Being chased?" Amelia gasped, putting a hand upon her chest and looking downright terrified. "Oh…oh my _goodness_! Is she all right? I mean…she's all right _now_, ain't she?"

"I'm afraid we aren't sure of her whereabouts as of right now," said Dumbledore carefully, not obvious to the horrified stares that he was now receiving from the Sinclairs. "I do not mean to alarm you, but it seems that she had the unfortunate luck to come across the path of a known Death Eater, who recognized her almost instantly as being the daughter of Liona Lupin."

Remus was now looking determinedly down at the woodwork of the table as though fascinated, blinking his eyes rapidly while still wringing his hands together under the table, for a loss as to what else to do with them.

"A Death…a Death Eater?" responded Craig weakly, suddenly gripping one of his wife's hands in his own. She too looked afraid; even though she was a muggle, she had heard of Death Eaters before. "Why…wot 'appened? Did…I mean…she wasn't _taken_…was she?" he asked this last part desperately, as fearful tears suddenly came to his wife's eyes. Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"I am afraid that she was. My auror friend saw the danger she was in and attempted to warn her without alerting this Death Eater to his own presence, but we believe that the man put her under the Imperius Curse to control her. He and Rahne disapparated before the auror could strike, though he did try. As soon as this was realized, my friend contacted Rahne's biological father who, in turn, contacted me. This man here, as you seem to have come to the conclusion of already, is Rahne's biological father, Remus Lupin."

"I thought that might 'ave been as so," said Craig quietly as Remus looked up and nodded gravely, then speaking again for the first time.

"We thought that you might have deserved to know all of this," he said, his voice somewhat hoarse at the moment. "But we also came for the answers to some questions that we had. We thought you might have known why she was being chased in the first place, as we doubted it was Death Eaters who were first chasing her. Our auror friend said that Rahne seemed halfway trusting of Pet-of…the Death Eater when they were talking, so it couldn't have been him."

"Well, of course we wouldn't know…" said Amelia fearfully. "How many enemies could a fourteen-year-old girl have?" she asked desperately. "And…well…don't you 'ave _any_ idea of where she might be?"

"Not yet, but we plan on finding out," promised Dumbledore. "But you don't have any clue as to why she was being chased? No threats were made against her?" he asked doubtfully. He always had thought it to be very strange that Rahne had two very powerful parents, and yet turned out to have no abilities of her own. It happened, of course, but it had still always struck him as strange. For all he knew, she could have shown some vaguely wolf-like tendencies, and some prejudiced wizards had problems accepting even _that_.

"Well…no," said Craig, though with perhaps too much haste and too little reassurance to make either of the two wizards really believe him. "Well…_no_, not directly…and I 'ave already told you that she is not a werewolf, as she never transformed durin' the full moon…"

"Oh Craig…just tell 'em," whispered Amelia, giving his hand an extra squeeze for comfort. "He is her father…he deserves to know this too…"

By this time, Lupin was looking between the two with a confused expression as though expecting to find an answer to his own silent questions in their worried faces. There was obviously something that he was missing out on here, but he had no idea what it was. Craig looked back at Amelia with a worried expression, but turned away again as she gave him a supportive smile, and continuing.

"Well…she isn't a werewolf…but we've come ta the conclusion that she ain't exactly…normal…either," said Craig in an apologetic tone, having no other word to use except for "normal" and feeling ashamed that he had referred to Rahne as such. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her real father; he was afraid of what he might have seen there. "Ya see…about a year ago we got this house-call from a man callin' 'imself Charles Xavier. Said he was from the States and wanted to offer a place fer Rahne at 'is school. He said it was a school fer the gifted, and it is…but not gifted like ya'd think…"

"We didn't know what to think at first," added Amelia nervously, unable to take her eyes away from Remus Lupin. She had never met the man before, but she felt such pity for him that it was almost overwhelming. She could easily see the pain in his eyes and it made her hurt as well. The poor man…having to give up his daughter like he did…and yet she was thankful for it, or else they would have never gotten Rahne. Craig continued, looking at Dumbledore as he spoke.

"You see…this Xavier man wanted Rahne at his school because she possessed a special quality that not many other teenagers 'ave. It's a unique quality…but one that many people don' like either way, and that coulda put 'er in danger. See, the Xavier Institute…it's a school for mutants. Rahne…Rahne's a mutant."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Why are we coming back here if we already know that she's gone?" asked Tonks dubiously as she and the others walked in to "The Leaky Cauldron" that very same morning after it had officially opened. She was with Bill and Charlie Weasley at the time, and it was they who followed her in.

The place was empty except for Tom the barman, who was cleaning out glass mugs with his wand and a dish towel behind the bar. With the morning rays of sun beaming dimly through the dusty windows, it just allowed for them all to see how dark and dusty it really was in the place.

"Because Moody barely had time to question anyone at all and wanted us to come back and do so," answered Bill tiredly. "Not that it will matter since the same people won't be here except Tom the barman…but maybe we can find some clue as to where Pettigrew took the kid."

"Who is this girl, anyways?" asked Tonks as they stopped in the middle of the empty tavern and looked around in bemusement. "Relative of someone's from the Order?"

"Well…Fred and George told me…" began Charlie with a frown. "Well…they said that this girl, Rahne…she supposed to be Lupin's daughter. I don't know if that's true or not; that's just what they told me." Tonks' face paled instantly.

"Could be true," surmised Bill, not taking notice of the suddenly shocked expression on Tonk's face. "I overheard mum and dad talking about him having a kid once, but Remus had to give her up after his wife was killed. Bloody idiotic, if you ask me…"

"And now Pettigrew's supposed to have her," finished Charlie tiredly. "Which, as you can guess, is _not_ a good thing." He added, turning around as he saw that Tom had come out of the back room with a napkin in hand. He had apparently overheard at least some of their conversation, but for some reason he looked a little irritated about it.

"You too, eh?" he asked snappily, not at all acting like the cheery man they all somewhat knew. "When are you people gonna leave me alone? I already told those other people, I ain't never heard of any '_Rahne'_ character, and she ain't here!"

"Whoa…Tom…" said Charlie in amazement, walking over to the counter quickly. "Hold up! There were other people here asking about this Rahne girl? Who was it?" he asked. His first thought was that it might have been Death Eaters that were looking for her…but that hardly made any sense. If they already had her, then they wouldn't be asking questions about her…unless, of course, they were asking for her before she was taken in effort to locate her…

"How am I supposed to know?" answered Tom with a grim scowl, holding up the napkin. "Some frightening girl gave me these telyfoam numbers things…what am I supposed to do with 'em, though? If ya want 'em, take 'em," he said, throwing the napkin at Charlie, who caught them easily. His eyes went over the numbers and the names with them carefully.

"Logan, Ororo…and Xavier's group," he said thoughtfully. "No…those definitely don't sound like Death Eaters…"

"I don't want to hear of it!" Tom exclaimed, covering his ears and turning around, walking back into the back room. Apparently he was not a big fan of talks about Death Eaters.

"What are we going to do?" asked Tonks nervously, glancing at the napkin over Charlie's shoulder. He shrugged and turned around, then beginning to walk back towards the doorway with the others following right behind him.

"I'm guessing that we are going to use a telyfoam and call these people up," he said evenly. "Now…who knows how to _use_ a telyfoam?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Lord Voldemort watched with a certain amount of amusement as the girl came to once more, after Pettigrew had cast the spell to wake her up. She was leaned up against the wall next to the doorway to his chambers, the dim lighting causing her to look sickly, even pale, as she lied there, unconscious. Lucius watched from a small distance, holding an empty vial in one of his pale hands, an empty vial that had once held a small, yet strong, amount of Veritaserum. Pettigrew stood up and backed away after he had administered the spell, his wand still in his hand as he watched the girl carefully.

Her bright eyes now dull, and her once furious expression simmered down to one of slight content and minor bemusement, she blinked her eyes slowly, not seeming perturbed about her situation at all anymore, as though nothing was wrong. The Dark Lord smiled cruelly; he recognized the effects of Veritaserum upon the young girl's face. Now it was time to get some answers to his questions.

"What is your name?" he asked, slowly stepping forwards, his tone seeming to hang in the air with each syllable that was said. The girl gave a slight start and then blinked once, twice, three times before answering.

"Rahne Sinclair…Lupin…" she said, a slight tone of annoyance and bemusement evident in her voice. The name 'Sinclair' was foreign to him, but the one of 'Lupin' was one he knew of very well.

"Well, which is it?" he asked, narrowing his red eyes upon her petite form.

"Both," she answered. "I was adopted."

"By the werewolf, Lupin?"

"By the Sinclairs," she muttered, her head lolling around on her shoulders as though she were fighting off the urge to fall asleep. He ignored this; that was an expected effect of the serum.

"Is Remus Lupin your father?" he demanded as Pettigrew suddenly took on an uncomfortable look once more, which he also ignored. Slowly, the girl nodded deeply, her chin falling almost to her chest in the process as though she were a muggle bobble head toy. "I see…how interesting," he said with a discernable and wicked smile. So Pettigrew had been right, for once…the girl could indeed prove to be very useful to the Dark Lord…

"Can you change your form at will?" he asked suspiciously, remembering how she had suddenly lashed out with her claws when she had lunged out of the small room she had been kept in. Now, looking at the rather small girl sitting before him, it was difficult to think that they were the same person.

"Yes," she answered in a slow drawl. There was no hesitation at all in her voice, much to Lord Voldemort's pleasure.

"How? Are you an animagus?"

"Don't know wot that is…"

"Come now…" said the Dark Lord in a dangerously low voice. In his mind, there was no way that the girl could not have known what an animagus was, even an unregistered one. Her father was supposedly one of the wizards working against him for the blasted Order of the Phoenix, after all… "How is it that you can change your form?"

"I can do it by thinking about it," she muttered in response, her glassy eyes blinking rapidly though it seemed that she was still under the spell of the serum. "It's my ability."

"What kind of ability?" the Dark Lord asked, beginning to lose his patience although he knew that the girl was answering the questions she was given as fast as the serum would allow her to. Lord Voldemort was not, it seemed, a very patient kind of man.

"My mutant ability."

Her response brought different reactions to the three men that were in the same room as she was. Lucius didn't respond at first; he seemed content to allow his face to pale to an even further degree while he raised an eyebrow, while inside he suddenly felt a wave of apprehension. Pettigrew began to wring his hands together, his eyes wide and his movements very twitchy, though he too made no sound to show that he had heard what the girl had just said.

The Dark Lord had another reaction completely. He was not at all afraid of the girl, as of course he would not have been anyways, but nor was he completely indifferent by her answer. It certainly did explain more than one thing for him…but altogether it was surprising. He had not expected the daughter of such a powerful wizard as Remus Lupin to have a mutation, though…

"A mutant?" he asked amusedly. "Really? Then tell me, Rahne Lupin…what is your…_mutation_?"

"Wolf-like qualities and senses, the ability to morph into a full or half-wolf, or wildcat, or whatever my emotions allow me to do at the time of the transformation," said Rahne promptly, seeming like she had written the book on wolf-like mutations. The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow, his slit of a mouth twisting itself into a wicked grin.

It was beginning to make sense for him now. If the daughter of a powerful werewolf would have to be a mutant, then it made sense that her mutant abilities would somehow reflect the wolf-like tendencies of her father. Although the Dark Lord knew very little of mutants let alone genetics, as they were not very common in the wizarding world (if there had ever been any, that is…) he knew that Pettigrew had brought him something special.

"Pettigrew," said the Dark Lord, turning to the smaller man that was standing off to the side. "Where did you say you found her, again?"

"The Leaky Cauldron, m'lord," stuttered the small man, immediately quailing now that the gaze of the Dark Lord was now resting on him instead of the girl. "She'd just…run inside, all out of breath and like…"

"You're saying she was being pursued?" Lucius cut in sharply.

"Well…I s-saw two muggle boys run past t-the tavern, yes…but they were just muggles; I know they were," said Pettigrew hastily. "They weren't Order members, I swear they weren't…"

However, by this time Lucius was no longer looking at Peter, but was now looking to his lord with an expression of distaste. Once, his eyes flickered over towards the spellbound girl and it was clear to see the revulsion upon his face, but he managed to return his expression to normal when looking back to Voldemort.

"My lord…" he said smoothly. "Although I agree that such a girl could prove … useful … to our cause … I must say that mutants, although sometimes powerful, are the lowest species of them all, below muggles even. To even _associate_ with one…" he began, then thinking better of it. "My lord…mutants are worse than the mudbloods that we so despise. While the impure blood of some wizards is tainted with muggle blood, mutants actually _are_ muggles. And what is worse is that they are muggles that have transmuted far beyond what could even be called _human_."

"And you assume I do not know any of this?" asked Voldemort easily, causing Lucius to falter and become quiet before he could begin to say what he had been about to add. "Malfoy…I know to what extent the lowliness of employing a mutant to do our bidding would be…but I must say, the outcome of doing so would be well worth it," he added with a vicious smirk.

"Pettigrew," he said suddenly, turning towards the smaller man. "That will be all we need from her for now. Put her back under the Imperius Curse and put her into the room in the basement. Reinforce the door. We wouldn't want her escaping now, when we might find some use for her…"

And with that he was gone, having walked smoothly out of the room and past the two other men. Lucius gave the girl one last look of revulsion before turning around and sweeping out of the room, leaving Pettigrew alone with her. He sighed once before pulling out his wand and aiming it at the girl.

"_Imperio_!"

* * *

**A/N (part 2):** After reading through this chapter I thought I would take some time to explain something that I've been slipping in: The _seemingly_ random comments from Logan and Cadence about smelling cinnamon (they're in this chapter and Chapter 3 (They may be elsewhere, but I don't remember)). Those are planned (at least by me) and they are supposed to make since, and I hope you'll have figured it out. But if not, I'll explain. 

Magic . . . smells . . . like cinnamon.

In the _Harry Potter_ books, J.K. assigns certain colors to spells (The Stunning Spell is red jet of light, and The Killing Curse is a green mass of light) and one day I asked myself, "What would magic smell like?" With the ultra sensitive noses of Cadence, Logan, and Rahne (when she's in any sort of wolf form) I figured that they would be able to smell the discharge of a spell, jinx, curse, etc.

Thus, I have decreed that magic will smell like cinnamon.

This little tidbit holds no relevance to the story, just something funny I thought I would throw in. And if you had picked up on this before now, brownie points to you!


	9. I Remember Now

**A/N:** You are lucky, guys . . . I am having such a terrific day, I have decided to update early. Well that, and I'm going to be out of town starting tomorrow and I won't be back until Monday afternoon. I figured that y'all wouldn't want to wait until Monday afternoon for the next exciting chapter. This is a chapter written by yours truly and is an attempt at a light hearted chapter amidst all of the negativity that's going on . . .

Jinxeh: I'm seven pages into Chapter 17 and should have it finished by Tuesday night (I think/hope).

As always: Enjoy! You reviewers seriously rock!

* * *

Chapter 9: I remember now!

When the group from the Institute woke the next morning, they were a flurry of movement and activity. All of their rooms being on the same floor of the hotel allowed them to keep their doors open as they moved from room to room conversing about what needed to be done now in order to locate their missing teammate. Especially now that there were apparently witches and wizards involved according to Remy.

"Listen up," Logan growled gruffly as almost all of the students were now gathered in his hotel room with worry for their friend and fellow student, "You lot can hang here for awhile, but 'Ro is going to contact the Prof and I need to call Hank. Once we're done, we'll figure out what to do next."

The students murmured in assent as Logan pulled out his cell and moved into the hall away from the noise. Taking a glance into the other rooms as he waited for Hank to pick up he could see Ororo on her phone talking to the Prof and Jamie (who had once again been counted out because of his age) was reading in his room. Logan frowned as he could smell something salty coming from the boy.

_Tears_, he thought sadly as Hank picked up.

XXXXXXXX

"Are you sure you know how to do this, Tonks?" Bill asked as the girl in question dropped some muggle coins into the pay phone.

"Yes," she replied, "and for the hundredth time. My dad was a muggle; I grew up knowing how to use muggle things." She looked at the napkin as she dialed the first number for Logan.

_Beep Beep Beep_

"Well?" Charlie asked. Tonks slammed the phone back down.

"Busy," she grunted as she put more change into the machine and dialed the second number.

_Beep Beep Beep_

"Damn," Tonks swore as she slammed the phone down once more, "Ya know for people, who are desperate to find this girl, they really don't know how to be contacted properly." The two with her laughed grimly as she picked up the phone once more.

"Thank you for calling the Crowne Plaza front desk, how may I help you?" a cheery voice asked over the phone.

"YES," Tonks said a little too loudly, "I NEED TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE FROM THE XAVIER GROUP." Tonks could hear the lady making some indignant mutter that sounded like, "No need to shout." The phone was ringing once more.

XXXXXXXX

Jamie was minding his own business when the phone in his room began to ring loudly, scaring the living daylights out of him. Curious, he did what any other thirteen year old would do. He stared at the phone seeing if it would ring again. When it did, he bounced off the bed and picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked into the receiver.

XXXXXXXX

"Thank God someone picked up," Tonks said to Charlie and Bill, "HELLO. IS THIS A PERSON FROM XAVIER'S?"

XXXXXXXX

Jamie pulled the receiver away from his ear as the person on the other end shouted into the phone asking for someone from Xavier's.

"Uhh," Jamie hesitated for a moment, "Yea, but you don't need to yell into the phone. Who is this?"

"Oh, uhh, sorry about that . . ." the mystery voice replied, "Um, we heard you were looking for a girl . . ." Jamie instantly perked up hearing that.

"Do you know where she is?" Jamie asked cutting the person off.

"Um, no," the voice responded.

"Oh," Jamie said sadly.

XXXXXXXX

It almost broke Tonks' heart to hear the dejected tone of the young person on the other end of the line. She bit her lip out of nervous habit.

"We're actually not sure we're looking for the same person you are," Tonks admitted to the person, "That was one of the reasons we decided to call. What can you tell me about the girl you're missing and where she vanished?"

"Well," the young boy's voice hesitated, "Her name is Rahne Sinclair. As far as I know she was taken from some place called the Leaky Cauldron . . ."

"Was she taken last night?" Tonks asked beginning to put the pieces together. She may have been a klutz, but she wasn't a ditz.

"Yes, she was," the boy replied firmly.

XXXXXXXX

The voice on the other end hesitated for a moment and Jamie took it as a sign that they were looking for the same person.

"Who is the girl you're looking for?" Jamie asked the other person.

"She's apparently the daughter of one of the members of our . . . erm . . . club . . ." the person finished weakly.

"Huh," Jamie said interested, "I know Rahne was looking for her biological parents who live in London . . ."

"Did she know their last name?" the person cut him off. Jamie thought about it for a moment.

"Um, I think she mentioned it on the plane," Jamie replied attempting to remember, "Loopy, Lucid, Leapin . . ."

"Lupin?" the voice offered. Jamie recognized it instantly.

"Yea, that's the one, Lupin," he replied excitedly.

"Where you at, kiddo, The Crowne Plaza right?" the voice asked and Jamie gave the person directions and the location of the hotel they were staying at. "We'll be there in the blink of an eye."

"I'll meet you in the lobby," Jamie said as he hung up the phone. He stared at it for a few moments, "Wait, I didn't get her name." Shrugging, he conjured up a few clones and left his room and made for the lobby.

XXXXXXXX

"A-a-a mutant?" Remus stuttered attempting to process this new bit of information given to him by his daughter's foster parents, "How?" Craig shrugged and rubbed his jaw line.

"I don't rightly know," he replied, "One day me an' Rahne were rounding up the sheep, and some of them had broken out of their pen. Rahne went chasin' after them but they had gotten a decent head start. She was sprintin' and just kept runnin' faster and then she collapsed onto all four and was chasin' them as a wolf."

"So she is a metamorph," Dumbledore said sagely, "Is a wolf the only form she can take?"

"Aye," Amelia replied, "well, she can do these partial transformations where she takes on some attributes of a wolf but not all of them." Remus couldn't help but let his mouth gape in shock.

"The best I can liken it to would be either a werewolf with complete control of her transformations or a very advanced animagus," Craig put in. Dumbledore nodded as a dark look passed over his face. Remus caught this and instantly realized what the implications were.

"Dear God, Albus," Remus breathed, "He's going to use her as a weapon, a pawn. Merlin, this is my entire fault . . ."

"Remus," Amelia said softly in an effort to comfort the shaken man, "You can't carry this blame on your own."

"If I had just gone into hiding with Liona and Rahne all those years ago, this wouldn't have happened . . ." Remus choked back a sob.

"You don't know that for sure, Remus," Albus said calmly, "Fate tends to step in no matter what steps you may take to avoid her cruel hand," suddenly a bemused smile crossed his ancient, lined face, "I dare say that we may be one step closer now with this information about Xavier's."

XXXXXXXX

Bill, Charlie, and Tonks apparated to the alley next to the Crowne Plaza and made their way discreetly into the front lobby. Finding three armchairs they sat down and began talking with one another as they awaited their liaison from Xavier's group. They didn't have to wait very long when a boy about thirteen years of age stepped out of the stairwell and began scanning the lobby. Tonks motioned him to come over and he did warily.

"You from Xavier's?" Tonks asked and she stood and made to shake his hand. The boy seemed to visibly relax as he recognized the voice and shook her hand.

"Yeah," he replied, "My name's Jamie Madrox, and you are?"

"Tonks," she replied before gesturing to her comrades, "And this is Bill and Charlie Weasley." The men stood and shook the young man's hand.

"So there are three of you," he muttered to himself before beckoning them to follow him. They approached the stairwell and three other preteens latched onto the older people.

"What the –" Charlie asked as he looked at the boy who attempted to keep him from moving his arms and the one they had initially met, "He looks just like you . . . so do the others . . ."

"Well technically, they are me," Jamie said bemused with his reaction, "But I'll explain that after you tell me what you know about what happened to Rahne." The boy clapped his hands and two more of him appeared out of thin air. He sent one to watch the door leading up and another up the steps to watch for people coming down the stairs. The original three copies sat the wizards and witch on the steps and pinned their arms.

"I-I . . . um . . ." Bill looked to the others, "How did we get duped by a preteen?"

"Ahem," Jamie cleared his throat, "I'll only ask this one more time: What happened to Rahne Sinclair?"

"She was kidnapped," Tonks replied, "She was taken by a Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew, who we thought had been dead for a number of years. We believe that she is in the clutches of the Dark Lord Voldemort." Jamie gaped at her for a moment.

"Shit," Jamie said eventually. He closed his eyes and all of the clones were absorbed back into his body, "You guys need to talk to Logan and Ms. Munroe now. Follow me."

"But how did you do that?" Charlie asked looking at the boy like he had sprouted a second head, or several extra heads.

"He's a mutant, Charlie," Bill replied firmly. Jamie smiled at the older red-head.

"I wasn't sure if the wizard world had known about mutants," Jamie stated, "But after the whole Apocalypse and Sentinel affair, there are very few people who _don't_ know about us."

"I had a run in with someone years ago . . . Don't remember much about it though," Bill said looking distant as Jamie pulled open the door to the floor they were staying on.

"Squirt," a gruff voice demanded, "where the hell did you run off to? Its bad enough Rahne is missing, you don't need to . . . Who the hell are they?" Charlie, Bill, and Tonks were greeted with the site of an extremely animalistic man with dark black hair covering his head and matching sideburns.

"Child there you are," a tall mocha skinned woman with shockingly white hair and blue eyes gasped as she ran forward and embraced Jamie.

"You guys really shouldn't worry about him," Tonks said ruffling Jamie's hair, "He knows how to handle himself." She shot him a wink and he blushed.

"Again: Who the hell are you three?" the gruff man asked.

"Logan," the white haired woman rebuked.

"It's alright Ms. Munroe," said Jamie, "They have information on Rahne." This proclamation (which he had said quite loud) had caught everyone's attention and they flooded into the hallways.

"It's not much," Charlie admitted seeing the eager looks on their faces, "but it's something."

"Logan, who are these people?" a tall brown haired boy with be speckled with red lenses asked.

"Well, this is Nymphadora Tonks," Bill explained ignoring her glare, "This is my brother Charlie Weasley and I'm –"

"Bill Weasley," a voice filled in from the back of the group in front of the three magical beings. The crowd of mutants parted and there stood a tall, lanky man with auburn hair with vivid red on black eyes.

"Hey . . . haven't we?" asked Bill curiously snapping his fingers as if attempting to remember.

"_Oui, mon ami_," replied Remy with a smile, "Venice, three years ago, some mighty fine wine . . ."

"Oh. . . OH!" A distinct, mischievous smile graced Bill's face, "It's good to see you again Gambit." The man named Gambit stepped forward and shook Bill's hand briskly.

"Have you learned how ta hold yer liquor yet?" Gambit asked with a cruel smile.

"No, Cajun," Bill said with a mock glare, "I haven't." Gambit laughed heartily at this.

"Hold on a sec, Gumbo," Logan said with interest, "You _know_ him."

"_Oui_," Remy replied, "We met, _merde_, was it three years ago? It was one of my last jobs for de guild 'fore I joined up wit' Mags. I was ta go ta Venice an' get a bracelet from some _homme_ who had jus' died . . ."

"He was a prominent wizard in the Venice area and Gringott's was managing his will and I was sent to retrieve a majority of his belongings," Bill cut in, "I arrived at his home to find Gambit attempting to break into a safe that was reinforced with several nasty curses . . ."

"He jus' stood dere laughing his ass off," Remy said darkly, "Remy had boils oozin' pus and the worst rash dis side of de Mississippi. Den Bill explained what was happenin' and removed the spells an' explained that he was a wizard."

"Yes," Bill was remembering the events of that night, "Then he tried to convince me to give him the bracelet using his empathy. When that didn't work, he threatened me with a charged card and explained that he was a mutant. We fought for a while, blew a lot of stuff up, including the floor beneath our feet . . ."

"We fell righ' into de wine cellar," Remy said with a definite smirk, "we decided not to destroy such a precious t'ing an' wound up drinkin' half of de ole man's store."

"Now wait just one second," Bill said pulling out his wand and pointing it at Remy, "You _pretended _to be drinking and got me completely sloshed and you stole the bracelet anyways." At this revelation Charlie and Tonks both broke into a fit of loud laughter.

"What can I say, _mon ami_," Remy said with a smile, "nothin' personal." Bill was about to retort, but Logan stepped in.

"You two can continue this later," he growled, "What do you three know about Rahne?"

"She was taken to Lord Voldemort by one of his Death Eaters, Peter Pettigrew," Tonks said bluntly. She was greeted by blank stares.

"Who?" Several of the group asked at once. The three magical people sighed in frustration.

"Do you have someplace to sit?" Tonks asked, "because this could take awhile." The group began to make for one of the rooms when one of the doors opened and out stepped a brown haired girl

"What is going on out here?" she asked looking around, "Father?" Logan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Cadence, these three know what happened to Rahne," Logan said as he gestured to the three. Cadence looked at the three indicated people and tensed up. Her hands curled into fists as a low growl surfaced from the back of her throat.

"Uh, Cadence . . ." an oriental girl said cautiously as she took a step towards the growling girl. The girl didn't respond, she stood there glaring at the three and trembling with anger. Her eyes, which had some lively glimmer in them before, were now blank and cold. "Cadence," the girl tried again while everyone else started to take cautious and slow steps back, "X-23?"

_Snikt_

XXXXXXXX

Remus collapsed into an old worn chair in Dumbledore's office. He couldn't believe that his daughter, his baby girl, Rahne, was a mutant. What he found more astonishing was that she went to a school for mutants and had helped fight and defeat a mutant attempting to take over the world. Dumbledore had also been shocked into silence with this revelation.

How could they have not known about a domineering, ancient, maniac who was attempting to take over the world?

Oh wait; they already had their hands full with one of those types.

"I can't believe it, Albus," Remus muttered disbelievingly, "She's been through so much, and now this . . ." Remus didn't get a chance to elaborate nor did Albus get a chance to respond when an owl flew in through the window urgently and landed in front of Dumbledore. He took the letter from the owl and read over it gravely.

"What is it?" Remus asked noting the dark look on the older man's face.

"It's from Arthur," Dumbledore said scrawling something on a piece of paper before handing it to Remus, "Harry used a Patronus Charm. Call up the Advance Guard; Harry is not going to be staying with his aunt and uncle much longer. Do not fret, dear friend, let us deal with this crisis first, and then we'll divide our attention between Voldemort's growing threat and rescuing your daughter." Without another word the Headmaster left his office at a speed that was very impressive for someone his age.

With a tired sigh, Remus pulled a mirror from his pocket.

"Nymphadora Tonks," he said into it.

XXXXXXXX

"My Lord," a nameless servant (he probably wasn't nameless, but it was of no consequence to Voldemort what his name was) said bowing lowly, "There is someone here to see you, My Lord."

"Who is it?" The dark lord seethed not bothering to rise or pause in eating his meal. The servant rose from his bow.

"The werewolf, Fenrir Greyback is here at your summons, My Lord," the servant replied.

"You may permit him to approach," the cloaked figure commanded as he stood from his chair. The servant bowed once more before leaving the large chamber, allowing the large oak doors to slam shut behind him. The next time they open a mangy looking man entered. He had long, stringy grey hair, tattered clothing, and cold, cruel eyes. He approached Voldemort with a steady, confident gait. As he got closer, the dark lord could see the twisted smile on his face that exposed his pointed teeth that he picked at with yellowing nails.

"You wished to see me?" he asked with a curt, barely perceptible bow. Voldemort smiled wickedly.

"Tell me what the name Lupin means to you?" he asked with his cold, shrill voice. Greyback laughed darkly.

"If I recall correctly," Fenrir began rubbing the stubble on his chin, "I bit the little brat, Remus, about twenty-five years ago. He grew up, got married, fought against you the first time around, had a kid. When you had . . . vanished . . . I decided to take out some of my _frustrations_ on him . . ."

"Then you were the one who killed his wife?" the dark lord demanded. Fenrir's smile broadened.

"Yes, that was me," he replied with a cold smile, "Tried to get to his kid as well, but there were some wards protecting the child's room that I couldn't break through . . ."

"What if I told you that I could give you a second chance at his child?" Voldemort interrupted. Fenrir seemed to perk up at this information.

"What do you mean?" the werewolf asked as the dark lord flicked his wand. Fenrir looked in the direction that he had cast a wordless spell. From the shadows came a girl, no older than fourteen years, who looked surprisingly familiar to the bestial man.

"She looks just like her mother, doesn't she, Fenrir?" Voldemort said with amusement in his cold voice. Fenrir approached the girl and circled her like he was monster stalking his prey, which wasn't far from the truth.

"You're going to allow me to kill her?" he said excitedly baring his pointed teeth. To his disappointment, Voldemort said no. "Why not?"

"Look at what the child can do," Voldemort said as he flicked his wand once more. Greyback watched in amazement as she transformed into a complete wolf form before changing into a werewolf-like appearance, and then back to a normal state.

"How?" Fenrir demanded to know.

"She is a mutant with the ability to change her form at will to either that of a full wolf, or werewolf form," the dark lord replied with certain amusement in his tone.

"Is her bite cursed?" Fenrir asked looking at the girl in a new light.

"Sadly, no," Voldemort replied, "I would not suggest biting her either, for I fear that a werewolf bite would actually kill her." Fenrir watched as her blank eyes started to regain some life to them and she started to move and transform of her own accord. Voldemort flicked his wand once more and she returned to a dreamlike state.

"What was that?" Fenrir asked. The dark lord sighed.

"She is able to throw off the Imperius Curse," Voldemort explained, "I am the only one powerful enough to keep her under it. I was hoping that you would have a few ideas of how to keep her under control . . ." Fenrir smiled grew malignant.

"Oh, I assure you," Fenrir began approaching the girl and trailing a grubby finger down the side of her face, "that if you entrust her to me, she will serve the cause willingly."


	10. New Meat

**A/N:** Hey Kids! Yes, Alexis lives, and is finally posting the next chapter for Legacy of Lupin. I have been going crazy here at college, and time just got away from me on Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday, and now it's Tuesday and I suddenly remembered that I needed to update the next chapter!

Fret not, I will update again on Saturday. I swear I'll remember to this time. But currently I have two big English projects and another big project in my Freshman Seminar class that have all been dumped on top of me at once, and then couple that with fencing, ballroom dancing, and being a DJ . . . well in short, I'm swamped.

Enough excuses: Onwards and upwards!

* * *

Chapter 10: New Meat

"Was it something I said?" asked Tonks fearfully as she stared down the hallway past the other mutants, watching as the strange man named Logan practically drag who, she assumed, was his rather feral daughter down the hallway. She was snarling and lashing out still, trying to turn around in vain; he still had a good grip on her upper arm and wasn't letting go anytime soon.

"Yeah…you, like, mentioned Rahne, that's what you said…" muttered a short girl with brown hair darkly. "Cadence is like her best friend…and she doesn't like not knowing what's going on."

"Apparently so…" Bill commented, gulping just slightly. The image of a small and wiry girl suddenly bursting two claws out of her knuckles was not one that he was going to be able to forget quickly. First they had been duped by some twelve-year-old kid in the lobby who could make copies of himself, and then had almost been attacked by another…these people were just downright _weird_…

"This is a little much right now…" said the white-haired and dark-skinned woman nervously, for once losing the calm that had become her trademark to the mutant students she helped to instruct. "I mean no offense to you, Gambit, but when you were making your comments about…wizards…and such…well, we thought it was the intoxication that was speaking…"

"Oh, so I'm not the only one who can't hold his liquor, eh?" muttered Bill darkly under his breath.

"Shut it, magic-boy…" growled Remy mockingly. "But dat's not de point…"

"Remy wasn't lying?" asked Jubilee in confusion. "That's not right. You guys can't be wizards…" she scoffed, hands on her hips as she looked them up and down. She had been quite willing to go along with Remy's stories about wizards and such before, as they all were, but of course she hadn't really believed him…

"You're right," said Tonks brightly. "I just happen to be a witch! Smart girl…"

"That's…that's not what I…meant…" said Jubilee with a frown. "And besides that…what can a bunch of supposedly magic people want with Rahne Sinclair?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"No…this is not the place for this conversation, Jubilee," said Ororo disapprovingly. "Not out here in the open like this. Here…come over into this room…this is Kitty and Jubilee's, I believe. It will be safer to discuss this in here…"

And so it was that the throng of mutant students all filed in to the room, although Ororo had not meant for all of them to follow, preferring it if just the adults could have spoken for the moment. However…she supposed she owed Jamie that much for bringing the people up there…and she would never be able to keep the others out if she allowed for him to stay. She let the children in first, and then followed the supposed 'wizards' inside as well.

"They're probably Wiccan or something," whispered Kitty into Jubilee's ear. "Either that, or they're as drunk as Remy…"

"That seems likely," whispered Jubilee back to Kitty as they moved to the far end of the spacious hotel room. All the while, she was eyeing Bill as she said this. If that was a man that had drunken himself into a stupor, then who knew if he was even sober then? Besides that fact…it wasn't like magic actually existed. Kitty was right; they were probably Wiccan or something like that…

Just the thought that magic could exist made her skeptical. Mutants were one thing…but wizards? Mutants existed because of evolution itself. There was no rational explanation for wizards…or witches, in the pink-haired woman's case.

Logan came back after a moment, a long scratch to be seen in his black t-shirt with a wet substance surrounding it. Ororo looked at him in concern but he waved it away; he had healed from that minor wound practically right after it had been inflicted upon him.

"She's calmin' down," he said grimly. "Put 'er in my room and made her do her exercises to calm her down. She'll be fine. Now then…you three," he said, suddenly turning around to look at the three magical folks that were standing by the door uncomfortably. "What were you sayin' back in the hallway?"

"Uh…let's start at the beginning," said Charlie easily. "We're looking for Rahne Lu-er…Sinclair, as well as you. One of our guys saw her at The Leaky Cauldron too, but he was too late to do anything about it. Peter Pettigrew has her now. Luckily it was because of the same man who saw her that we found out about it, so now we're looking for her as well…" he said, suddenly finding that this was indeed a very complicated thing to describe.

"Who's 'we'?" asked Logan, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "There more of you? And while we're on the subject, who the _hell_ is Peter Pettigrew?"

"Yes…there are more of us. And Peter Pettigrew was once a friend of Rahne's real father…but now he's a Death Eater, which is a very dark wizard. Our own little…team, I suppose…is one that works _against_ the Dark Arts," admitted Charlie uneasily. "We sort of have our own organization up and about…but even if I could tell you about it, I wouldn't. But anyways, our friend that spotted her in the tavern was able to easily recognize Rahne. Anyone who knew her mother would; apparently she looks just like her…"

"And of course, since Rahne's father is also involved with our own association, he had to be alerted to this too…which is why we went back to the place. It seems that someone gave this to Tom, the barman," said Tonks, pulling the napkin with the phone numbers scrawled upon it from her pocket and holding it up.

"Oh yeah…I did," said Rogue with a frown. "Stupid guy looked at me like he'd never seen a phone number before…"

"He hasn't," said Bill easily. "In the wizarding world, those who weren't born in muggle families, meaning non-magical families, usually don't know anything about muggle objects. Luckily Tonks here has a muggle dad, so she dialed the number for us after Tom pretty much threw this at us in his own frustration…"

"Wizarding world?" asked Logan in disbelief. "What are you talking about? How many more of you _are_ there?"

"As many as there are muggles," said Charlie with a shrug. "We just have laws that demand secrecy from muggles…which we are breaking right now," he said with a grin.

"You guys have government?" asked Scott, impressed despite himself. If these people were not playing with their minds, then that was something else…imagine not knowing of a whole other world out there…and since Jean was nodding along with all of the words that were being said, it was obvious that they weren't actually lying.

"Not the best government, but one nonetheless," said Tonks darkly. "Off topic here…anyways, we had to contact you…we thought you might have had information on Rahne. Her father isn't handling this very well…"

"That Craig guy?" asked Logan with a snort. "I met 'im before. That don't shock me much…" Of course, he didn't think much of _any_ parents who had chosen to pull their students from the school that they knew they were safer at…

"No, not 'that Craig guy'," said Bill. "We mean her real father. As in, her biological one."

There was a sharp intake of breath from nearly everyone in the room that was not of magical origins as he said this, leaving him quite amused for the moment. However, the gruff man, Logan, looked more angry than surprised, like everyone else.

"You tryin' to say that the same guy who gave Rahne away is worried about her?" he asked skeptically. "Typical, ain't it?"

"Remus Lupin is _very_ worried," said Tonks edgily, immediately going to the werewolf's defense. Her voice sounded firm and adamant, but inside her head things were completely chaotic. '_Don't lose your head, Tonks…don't let your feelings get in the way, here…_' she thought desperately. '_So what if he has a daughter? I've got a job to do here…gotta get with the program…_'

Luckily, Tonks took no notice of the red-headed woman named Jean Grey, who was suddenly frowning as the pink-haired woman thought all of this. Tonks forced herself to smile slightly and went on in a calmer tone of voice.

"Remus, her father, didn't have much of a choice when he gave her up. Her own life was in danger, and our government was after her as well…they didn't think him to be capable enough to raise a child, so if the Ministry would have gotten a hold of Rahne before Remus gave her away, who knows where she would have ended up? At least he made sure that she went to a good family," she said defensively.

"And why wouldn't he have been capable enough to raise a kid?" demanded Logan, with perhaps more gruffness than he had meant to use evident in his low voice. Tonks frowned at him and opened her mouth to speak…but then just as quickly closed it once more, a suddenly bemused expression on her face.

"What the…oh!" she said quickly, opening her cloak and reaching in to one of the inner pockets as the two standing next to her looked to her in surprise. She fumbled around in one of her pockets for a moment before she pulled out a small, round, mirror.

"Remus!" she said in relief, upon seeing the tired-looking face looking right back at her from the mirror's surface. "We were just…er…talking about you!"

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Logan incredulously, uncrossing his arms and looking at the woman as if she were insane. "Are you talking into a _mirror_?"

"It's how we communicate," said Bill evenly. "Like your muggle telyfoams."

"_Telyfoams_?"

"Quiet!" said Tonks with a frown before she returned her gaze to the mirror.

"Problems?" came a somewhat hoarse voice that everyone in the room, including the mutants, heard quite clearly. This caused several of the younger students to gasp, as they hadn't believed Bill to be serious before.

"We're currently in a room filled with a bunch of mutants who are looking at us like we have completely lost our minds," Tonks said nervously. "I'd say so."

There was a definite pause on the other end of the mirror after the word 'mutant' had been said. Finally…

"Did you say you were in a room full of _mutants_?" came the same voice, this time sounded much more hurried.

"Yes, supposedly they're friends of Rahne," said Tonks surely. "Why…what's wrong?" she asked suddenly, seeing the expression on his face.

"Lemme talk to him," said Logan, holding out a hand so he could take the mirror. Tonks ignored him. She knew that, if anything, he would begin to chew Remus out before he actually began talking to him civilly.

"Nothing…just…nothing," said Remus quickly. "Do they know anything about where she might be? Anything at all?"

At this, Logan suddenly frowned and lowered his hand once again, no longer reaching out to take the mirror. He often thought himself to be an excellent judge of character, and that was a title that he could honestly hold himself to. He could always tell when someone was lying to him because of the emotion in their voices. And the voice that he had just heard…he had definitely detected more than just a trace of hopefulness mixed with nervousness in it. The man seemed genuinely concerned…

"No more than we do," Tonks sighed. "I'm sorry, Remus…"

There was another pause on the other end of the mirror, before there came a very tired sigh.

"Very well…it was worth a chance, though. Albus and I just met with her foster parents. They told us of her mutation…"

"Her _what_?" gasped Bill and Charlie in unison. They had just thought that the girl hung out with a strange crowd…they had not expected for her to be one as well.

"You got a _problem_ with that?" Logan asked with a scowl.

"Who was that?" asked the same hoarse voice, sounding surprised.

"The man who's most likely going to end up being Bill and Charlie's murderer," said Tonks indifferently. "Anyways, you called _me_. What's wrong?"

"We're sending the guard to Harry's home. He used the Patronus Charm, and Albus wants us to retrieve him now and take him back to Headquarters."

"He used the Patronus Charm?" asked Bill uncertainly. "But…he would have only used that charm if…"

He suddenly looked up in shock to meet his brother's equally stunned gaze, both immediately understanding.

"Oh no…" Tonks groaned. "All right…we'll meet you back at Headquarters in a few."

"You're leaving?" asked Ororo in surprise. "But you still have not explained to us what is really going on here!"

"It'll have to wait," said Bill as Tonks put the mirror back into her cloak pocket. "An underage friend of ours has just performed magic without the proper instruction or permit. That's a government offense right there and he…well…its special circumstances with him," he sighed. "We need to go get him."

"So you're just going to leave us high and dry, here?" asked Jubilee with a scowl. "Aren't you gonna help us find Rahne?"

"We're trying to do all we can to find her right now," Charlie stated. "But for now, there's nothing we can do. Look…we'll be back. We have these … cell … telyfoam … number things. We'll contact you as soon as we find out anything else, we swear it," he said solemnly. Even as he said it, the other two were preparing themselves for what was to come next.

"You can't just leave us like that," protested Logan. "The kid ain't gonna get found if we just-"

_CRACK_

The most of the younger mutants in the room all shrieked and covered their eyes when all three of the wizards suddenly disappeared before Logan could even finish his sentence. After a moment they all lowered their hands, gaping in shock at the empty spot in which they had just stood.

"What…the _hell_…was that?" Logan growled, this time rounding on Remy. He had no specific reason to; it was mainly because he was at a loss of whom else there was to yell at.

"I…dunno," Remy said nervously. "Never seen dat before…"

"This is just great…" Scott sighed, running a hand through his lanky brown hair before looking around at the other adults. "Any thoughts on what to do now?"

"Wait for Charles," said Ororo with difficulty, as at the time she was restraining herself from telling Logan to back off from Remy. "We'll decide what to do when he gets here…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ever since he had rejoined the group and had set off with them towards the Dursley's household, Mad-Eye could not help but take notice of how spaced-out Remus seemed towards everyone else. Now they were all waiting in the kitchen downstairs, while Harry and Tonks packed his school things upstairs.

"You okay, Lupin?" Moody asked quietly in his usually almost-a-growl tone of voice as soon as they were somewhat alone in the kitchen. (The others were there as well, but as they were currently gathered around Kingsley, who was poking around at the muggle toaster and microwave, it was unlikely that they would be overheard.)

"I'm fine," Lupin replied, rather shortly, as he appeared to look suddenly fascinated with the blender.

"No you're not," Moody sighed. "Look…I already told ya' that I'm sorry for what happened," he growled. "I tried to catch her eye and warn her about Pettigrew before something like that could happen…I know that she noticed me; I saw her look at me once or twice…but he took her before I could do something."

"I know," said Lupin abruptly. "You don't have to keep explaining it."

"Well, apparently I do since you never seem to accept my apology…" Moody growled, shrugging and then walked off to inspect the toasted and microwave along with the others. Remus sighed deeply, wanting to go over and talk to him…but then decided against it. Instead, he brought out his wand and conjured up a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill. With those items, he bent over the kitchen table and began to write a letter to Harry's aunt and uncle.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Heh…new meat…" said Fenrir Greyback in a pleased voice, circling around the girl that was now under his control as though bearing down on his prey. He had to remind himself that she wasn't a rabbit and he was not doing this just to hunt her…though that would be fun…

He imagined it would have been quite a thrill to let the girl go just to chase after her again. It wasn't often that Fenrir would come across someone that actually posed a threat to him, and it was even rarer that he ever ran into someone that actually stood a chance of escaping. Even the thought of it sent a thrilling feeling sweeping through him.

Years ago he had bitten Remus Lupin, and he had just been a small child at the time. Now, Fenrir was completely in control of Remus's daughter. He found himself enjoying this immensely. Briefly he thought about actually letting the girl go and chasing after her anyways…but no…if she escaped, then his Dark Lord would have his head for sure. More was the pity…she would have been fun to pursue.

The dimmer than dim lighting that surrounding the two of them in the stone-reinforced underground chamber gave the girl a strange look; it threw a good half of her body into shadow and made her seem haunted; ghostlike, even. It also made her look simply striking…

He grinned and gave a short laugh that sounded more like a bark than anything. His eyes full of malice, he stepped up behind her and trailed a finger through her red hair lazily, allowing for it to drift down the back of her head and to the base of her skull. Her skin was so soft…it gave him the chills. Grinning, he remembered what his Dark Lord had told him…

"_She needs to be taught, Fenrir…" he had said in a deadly-quiet tone of voice, though his red eyes had been gleaming with malevolence. "And so that will be what you will be doing. Teach her to battle. Turn her into a rabid animal if you must."_

"_Of course," Fenrir had said, quick to agree with Voldemort's words. "And…is there anything else, m'lord?" he had asked coyly. The Dark Lord smiled, his thin lips pulled into a twisted grin._

"_Do what you wish with her," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just do not kill her. We need her alive…"_

Fenrir laughed again, allowing for his hand to trail over her right shoulder as he walked around her again, circling her closely.

'_Such a pretty girl_…' he thought wistfully as he took his hand away from her shoulder and then used it to cup her chin and make her look up. He grinned at the blank look in her eyes. She was under his complete control now; she wouldn't be able to fight him off even if she wanted to. He wondered just how much she wanted to…

He took his hand away and then glanced around at the chamber to make sure that they were actually alone. They were; the other corridors connected to the chamber were empty, and his own keen senses told him that there was no one else even around at the moment. He grinned. Good.

"All right, girly…" he said, preparing to take the spell off of her with his grin still attached firmly to his face. "Let's see what you've got…"

However, he soon found out that taking the spell away from the girl could have been a mistake on his part. He knew how much work it was going to take just to keep her under the spell itself, having to curse her again and again just to keep her in control, and so he should have figured out how angry she was going to be if he ever slipped up or took it away. The moment he took the spell away from her…

"YE BLOODY BASTARD!" Rahne screamed, upon realizing that she had the full use of her limbs (and apparently her mouth) once again. Fenrir raised an eyebrow and then suddenly jumped backwards with a yelp as she lunged towards him, already transforming into her half and half form, her sharp claws extended. "'OW DARE YE PUT YER FILTHY 'ANDS ON ME!"

Regaining his balance before he could stumble backwards, Fenrir laughed and jumped back once more, with more gracefulness to his jump as she lunged once more, swiping at him wildly. He wasn't sure how much he would _have_ to teach her about fighting after all.

"'OLD STILL SO I CAN KILL YA!" she bellowed, suddenly crouching on all fours before she sprang up once more, the built-up muscles on her newly-formed back legs acting like springs and send her rocketing towards him so fast that he hardly even had time to react to it. He managed to catch her just in time, however.

With a growl, he grabbed the each of her forearms and then swung her around before letting go. He slid back a bit because of the force of it but kept his balance. Unfortunately, she landed gracefully a few feet away, and was running towards him again in an instant. He was ready for her this time.

He waited until she had jumped for him one last time. He grabbed one of her arms and then lifted one leg, delivering what would have been a crippling kick to the stomach to any normal person. Unfortunately, she was most certainly not a normal person. It still had an effect though, and she stumbled back as he let go of her wrist, clutching at her stomach and wheezing. He saw this as his chance, and wasted no time in taking it.

Before she could even stand up straight again, he had seized her by the throat and was holding her up in the air as she struggled to breathe. Her clawed hands were scratching furiously at his hands, but it appeared as though he hardly noticed.

"You're a strong one, I'll give you that," he said with a grin. "And your abilities … impressive. The only problem we seem to have is with that attitude of yours…"

By this time he had managed to walk with her just like that over to the far wall. With a grunt he lifted her up again, still gasping for air, and slammed her into the wall. She yelped loudly but did not stop struggling against him. He allowed for her feet to touch the ground but did not remove his hands from her furry neck.

"Listen up, new meat," he whispered, bringing his face mere inches from her own as her eyes began to roll up in her head. She could smell the stink of his breath, and if she weren't too busy fighting against unconsciousness, she would have been reeling from it by then. "You have to understand who's in control here. You had the unfortunate luck to find your way into my hands. Literally, as it were. You keep fighting against that, and this is what will happen. Understand?"

There was no response coming from her besides a desperate squeak that was coming from between her lips as she struggled to draw in any kind of air at all to fill her lungs. Smirking, he let go of her neck and stepped away. She fell in a heap on the ground and didn't try to get up again.

She was quite a sight, lying there like that. A good quantity of her body was still covered in reddish-brown fur and she had yet to turn back into her normal female form, and yet even with those terrifying features she looked to be no more dangerous than a newborn kitten. Her eyes were blank and almost white, her chest was heaving up and down with every breath that she forced into her lungs; she was making the most ghastly sounds the whole time too; like a cheese-obsessed rodent that had just been caught in a mousetrap.

"Not going to attack me again, now are you?" Fenrir asked haughtily, enjoying the sensation running through him as he looked down at her. Never before had he felt such a feeling of authority and…power over someone else. With the other werewolves he was in residence in, of course there were many that feared him…and yet so many more of them despised him instead. By the time he was done with Rahne Lupin, she would fear him as well.

A few minutes later, after she had regained her breath, she was back under the curse and standing in the middle of the chamber once more. Her back was straight and her hands were clamped behind her back as she stood in an almost muggle-military pose, as though she were waiting directly for Fenrir's orders. He liked seeing this as well.

"Good…very good…" he muttered, circling her once more. "Oh yes…I'm sure that we will be able to find use for you, Rahne Lupin. Use indeed…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night found Remus Lupin sitting in a chair in the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place as he listened to Severus Snape give his report on the information he had obtained from the Death Eaters that he was spying upon. Well…actually he was only half-listening to what the other man was saying, drifting in and out of the meeting of the Order.

He didn't even take notice when Sirius, who was sitting next to him, would cast a concerned glance or two his way. Sirius knew that whatever Remus was feeling, it was hurting him deeply inside. He didn't press the matter. He himself noticed that the other Order members that knew of Remus's plight would cast furtive looks over to him as well, though their gazes did not linger for very long on him.

Remus was beyond seeing any of this. The only thing he could see in his own mind was Liona and Rahne. Liona would kill him for sure if she had known what had happened to their daughter…

At the same time, his mind was practically spinning as he fought down the lump in his throat as he thought about the family he no longer had. When Rahne had been born, he had been so sure that they would all be happy together, Death Eaters or no Death Eaters. He had been happy. He had a loving wife, a newborn daughter…but then all of that had changed. Fenrir Greyback killed his wife when he, Remus, was locked away. He had been given no choice but to give up his only child so soon afterwards…everything had been taken away from him.

And then, as if to add insult to his already grievous heartfelt injury, he was to find that years later a man that he had once thought of as a friend had kidnapped his only child. He was sick with worry…but what was he supposed to do about it? What use did Rahne really have to the Dark Lord? She was a mutant, of course, with impressive abilities…but he knew that those wizards who thought themselves to be above all because they were 'pure-blood' would rather have killed themselves than associate with a mutant.

But who knew what they could have been doing to her? He wouldn't have trusted Pettigrew with a pet cat when he had known him; there was no reason to trust the little rat with a child. Least of all, Lupin's child.

He sighed softly and shook his head as the meeting came to a close, covering his face with a pale hand. He couldn't do this…he couldn't just sit there with the knowledge that Rahne was being held captive somewhere…

"Moony?"

"Huh?" Remus gave a start and removed his hand from his weary-face. He turned and saw Sirius looking at him strangely as the most of the Order filed towards the doorway. The meeting had ended without him having even noticed it. Slightly embarrassed, he watched as the most of them left the room with the exception of the elder Weasley sons and their father, Tonks, and Mundungus Fletcher, who had fallen asleep at the table.

"You didn't seem to be really…there…during the meeting," said Sirius with a raised eyebrow as he got out of his seat and stretched his arms. "Not that you missed much. Besides giving us no new information, Snape was adding in his usual humorless hints about how he's putting his life on the line for us…git."

"None of that, now…" said Molly Weasley severely as she walked into the room. "The children are coming down in a moment; I don't want you saying things like that in front of them."

Suddenly, Remus didn't want to remain there in the kitchen anymore. Mrs. Weasley had told him that the children had overheard him talking about what had happened to Rahne, and so he knew that they too knew about what was going on. The last thing he needed was for six teenagers to be looking at him in addition to the adults that had been doing so since he had gotten back to the headquarters.

However, since he was taking up residence at Grimmauld Place he, unfortunately, had nowhere else he could have gone at the moment, which was most frustrating.

"You all right?" asked Sirius as he dragged his chair up to the table and flopped down on it, putting his booted feet onto the tabletop and putting his hands behind his head as he reclined.

"I'm fine," said Remus shortly. Sirius snorted.

"No you're not," he said wisely.

"Will everyone please stop saying that?" muttered Remus darkly.

"They'd probably stop if you didn't always look like the world was about to end," pointed out Sirius. When Remus did not look very pleased with this comment, he allowed himself to turn serious once more.

"Seriously, though," he said, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It'll be all right…we'll track that little rat down," he said surely. "Any luck with the people she was traveling with? Tonks told me she was here with her school."

"They don't know any more than we do," said Remus, though he had just seemed to come to the realization that Rahne had not been alone when she came to London. "But I haven't spoken to them myself yet. Maybe I should…"

"I'm sure that would make that Logan man happy," said Tonks sourly. "He's one of the teachers with the kids. Quite frightening, too…and we didn't really tell them much. At least we didn't have to explain about wizards or nothin'…one of the mutants filled them in. Apparently he had met Bill a few years ago," she said with a snicker, looking to the redhead as she thought about what Remy had told them about him. Bill scowled at her halfheartedly. "They'd probably like to talk to you, though," she added with a nod.

"Sounds good," said Remus, getting from his seat and grabbing his cloak from the table.

"What?" Tonks asked with wide eyes. "You're going now?"

"No time like the present," said Remus easily. "Where are they at, again?"

"I'll go with you," said Tonks quickly, also getting to her feet. "I'll show you where it is, Remus."


	11. The Good Professor

**A/N:** Wow you guys, I am amazed. Ten chapters and over a hundred reviews! Keep it up because, I don't know about Jinxeh, but lots of reviews make my world go round. Well, reviews and Broadway music, but that's another story.

I forgot to mention in the last author note that Jinxeh wrote the last chapter, and this chapter was written by yours truly. Oh Jinxeh, only four more chapters before Chapter 15 . . . heh heh.

I know Fenrir is creepy, but most of the time creepy and evil go hand in hand, so when you get right down to it, Fenrir is just downright evil. Anyways, this chapter is sad, so get the box of tissues ready . . .

Onwards and Upwards, and as always, Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11: The Good Professor

"Lupin has a kid?" Harry asked astounded. His friends had cornered him after his initial anger with them had ebbed. Soon after they had partially made up Hermione and Ron began filling him in on all that had happened.

"To make matters worse," Hermione fretted, "Pettigrew kidnapped her and she's a squib, meaning she's completely defenseless!" Hermione collapsed down onto the bed once again overcome with grief for the daughter of their favorite former professor.

"Is she a werewolf?" Harry asked curiously attempting to envision what Remus's daughter would look like. Ron shook his head.

"As far as we can tell no," Ron filled in for his friend, "Which probably means that You-know-who will use her against Remus by threatening her life to force him to do stuff . . ."

"Dumbledore wouldn't let it go that far," Harry protested coming to Lupin's defense. Hermione finally looked up.

"I'm sure the Order will find her long before it comes to that," Hermione put in when the door suddenly flew open and three more redheads stampeded into the room. Exchanging looks, the Gryffindor trio waited for the three to catch their breath before questioning them.

"What did you lot do now?" Hermione asked shooting Fred, George, and Ginny a patronizing look.

"Rahne's not defenseless!" Ginny explained. The trio sat up at this news.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "She's a squib isn't she?"

"Well, Ronnykins . . ." George smiled.

"You are right about that . . ." Fred carried on.

"But we've just heard an interesting bit of news . . ." George beamed.

"You see, apparently she was in London with her school . . ." Fred began.

"She goes to a school for mutants . . ." the twins said together.

"Wait, mutants?" Ron asked confused. Harry and Hermione exchanged incredulous looks.

"Mutants as in, the ones involved in that robot incident in the states several months back?" Hermione asked curiously.

"We don't know!" Fred and George exclaimed.

"But we're pretty sure it's 'mutants' meaning 'muggles with really wicked powers,'" Ginny replied being more help than either of her older brothers.

"Oh my," Hermione said completely shocked. Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"Where is Lupin now?" Ron asked curiously. The three redheads exchanged looks.

"I think he just left with Tonks to go talk to the people from her school," George supplied.

"Poor Lupin," Hermione said sadly and something inside Harry seemed to snap at her comment.

"He doesn't want pity," Harry said darkly looking at the others in the room before making his way to the door, "He just wants his daughter back. And no amount of pity is going to cause that to happen." Without another word to his friends, Harry stormed out of the room and down to the kitchen to get a bite to eat.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked looking at the four other teens shrugged as they stared after their troubled friend.

XXXXXXXX

Tonks and Remus appeared with a loud _CRACK_ in the alley beside the hotel where Rahne's school group was staying. Remus strode purposely towards the front door when Tonk grabbed his hand. He found it strangely comforting when he looked back to the younger pink haired witch. They stood there unmoving for a few moments before Remus raised an eyebrow in question. Tonks forced down the blush that was attempting to rise in her cheeks.

"Umm . . . there are some things you should . . . uhh . . . be warned of before you . . . ahh . . . umm . . . go in there," Tonks rambled as she released Remus's hand.

"Such as?" he asked genuinely curious; Tonks tried to figure out how to put it best.

"Well apparently your daughter is friends with this girl named Cadence," Tonks began slowly, "and . . . um . . . well the girl has two metal claws that pop out of her hands. She tried to attack Bill, Charlie, and I when we came here earlier. She's really close to Rahne and is really worried about her." Remus nodded understandingly as he walked through the revolving doors followed quickly by Tonks who then led him up to the proper floor. As they stepped off the landing they were greeted with a flurry of activity.

Teenagers were darting from room to room talking quickly in strong American accents for the most part. Every now and then an older African American lady with white hair would dart after one of the kids attempting to get them to do something. Tonks and Remus stood there ignored for the most part when a girl with brown hair with white bangs and heavy Gothic make-up paused and noticed them standing there. She looked at them curiously before opening her mouth.

"Logan," she called, "tha one with tha pink hair is bahck, and she brought somebody else with her this tahme." The three continued to stare at each other when a feral looking and extremely hairy man stepped out of one of the rooms and looked in the direction of the teenaged girl, Tonks, and Lupin.

"Pinky," the man, apparently Logan, Remus guessed, addressed Tonks with a nod and then glared at Remus. The man seemed to study him, as if attempting to judge if Remus was a threat to him and the students there or not. He noticed that Logan appeared to be taking quick sniffs, much like he did when he was a werewolf looking for a scent. Whatever he was sniffing for, he apparently found it and looked at Remus long and hard.

"What is it, Logan?" the striped hair teen asked as she saw what her teacher was doing. Logan cocked his head to one side.

"You're Rahne's father." It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact. Despite this Remus found himself nodding his head, curious as to how this animalistic man could tell that having only just met him. As if sensing his thoughts the Logan replied, "Her scent is similar to yours, something animal-like and primitive about your scents." Remus's eyes widened. Could this man tell he was a werewolf with just one sniff, or had Tonks and the others told them about his condition when they had met the day before.

Remus hadn't noticed it before, but now the hall was filled with teenagers who were gaping at him and whispering their thoughts about this strange man who had shown up with the pink haired witch from earlier.

"Students," calm, Oxford accented voice cut through the growing murmurs causing the students to hush, "I must ask that you all return to your rooms for the time being. Mr. Lupin, Miss Tonks, and I have much to discuss. The students began to disperse and return to their rooms and the two magical persons were able to identify the source of the voice.

Rolling towards them in a wheel chair followed by the African American lady with white hair, a teenaged girl with long red hair, and a teenaged boy with lanky auburn hair and glasses with red lenses was a middle-aged bald man with penetrating blue eyes. Eyes that reminded the two of a certain headmaster they knew . . .

The man in the chair came to a stop next to Logan and extended his hand to Remus first. Remus took it and shook it firmly as the man introduced himself:

"Mr. Lupin, I am Professor Charles Xavier, the head of Rahne's school."

"Nice to meet you," Remus replied as they released the other's hand, "But . . . how did you know who I am?" The good professor smiled enigmatically.

"I have been filled in on the events that have been occurring while I was attending to business here," Xavier replied and motioned for the people in the hall to follow him to a vacant room so they could discuss in private, "and Logan alerted me to your arrival."

"But how did he alert you?" Tonks pondered aloud, "He stood there the whole time . . . "

_That is easy, Miss Tonks. He projected his thoughts to me_, the Tonks nearly jumped out of her skin when Charles's voice reverberated through her head. Remus furrowed his brow.

"Telepathy," Charles replied sensing their confusion, "is my particular 'gift.'" They all followed him into the room he had been leading them towards. Tonks and Remus stepped in to receive another shock.

"Sweet Merlin," Tonks murmured as she spotted the man.

Although man probably wouldn't have been the correct word, he was covered from head to toe in thick blue fur. His arms and legs had an ape like appearance to them and his hands and feet were overly large. The most shocking about the 'man' though was the fact that he was at some type of muggle invention, quickly tapping away with spectacles in front of his eyes he was dressed in an 'intellectual' style with a beige turtle neck and fitted trousers. He also appeared to be humming the 1812 Overture. He looked up as the group entered and noted the astonished look of the two new visitors.

"Greetings and salutations," he said in a warm tone of voice, "We had been hoping you would come back, but we weren't sure it would be this soon." He turned back to his device, made a few more tapping noises before standing up and lumbering over to the stunned witch and wizard. "I am Dr. Hank McCoy." He extended his hand to the two; Remus took it and shook it finding that the beast-like man was surprisingly gentle.

"Remus Lupin," he said before letting go of his hand and Tonks took it.

"Nymphadora Tonks," she said with a slight amount of awe in her voice before snapping out of it, "But . . . uh . . . just call me Tonks." Hank smiled revealing slightly pointed teeth.

"Quite interesting that you choose to be called by your surname," Hank mused aloud, "when your first name is so seemingly befitting. 'Nymph' obviously coming from the minor divinity of nature in Greek and Roman mythology represented by beautiful maidens dwelling in the various areas of nature and 'dora' coming from Greek name meaning 'gift.' Or from the Greek myth of Pandora whose curiosity caused her to release the ills of humankind and their most powerful counterpart, hope." Tonks gaped at Hank in astonishment; no one had ever analyzed her name like that before making it sound almost tolerable. She let out a strange giggle.

"I've never thought about my name like that before," she said sheepishly. Charles cleared his throat drawing her attention back as the others introduced themselves.

The two magical beings soon found that the dark skinned woman with white hair was Ororo Munroe, the redhead was Jean Grey, the teenaged boy was Scott Summers, and, of course, the feral man was Logan. Once the introductions were concluded, Charles turned to Remus.

"I do believe that we are on the same page, but to make sure I'd like to go over what I know and if you have any additional information please feel free to interject," the professor said calmly and Remus nodded.

"On the day that we first arrived, Wednesday, Rahne and her friend Cadence went to do some sightseeing, they explored the Tower of London before stopping in a small restaurant to eat . . ." Tonks suddenly let out a gasp of realization, causing everyone to look at her.

"We saw them," Tonks said before clarifying, "Bill, Charlie, and I. We went there to discuss Order business and were talking about pureblooded bigotry when they ran out." Comprehension suddenly dawned on her face, "They must have thought we were talking about mutants because we never specifically mentioned the word 'pureblood.'" Xavier made a steeple with his fingers.

"Yes, that fits with what Cadence relayed to me," Xavier nodded before continuing, "From there she and Rahne ventured to the library to search in the genealogy department."

Remus felt a tug at his heart and an intense twang of pain. She had been looking for him and Liona. That was the only possible explanation. Seeing the expression on Remus's face, Xavier knew the significance of Rahne going there.

"They left from there and met up with two other students, Remy LeBeau and Rogue," the professor said before letting out a sigh, "the former being inebriated. They made there way back to the hotel when they were accosted by a group of anti-mutant protestors. Cadence attempted to attack them, but Rahne was able to stop her," Remus felt a small amount of pride swell in his chest. So many emotions were bombarding him at once, "The protestors gave chase and the students split up. From here we can only guess as to what happened . . .

"Rahne some how made her way into The Leaky Cauldron to escape the protestors. There she encountered, I believe, Peter Pettigrew," He looked to the two for confirmation and they both nodded their heads, "and he some how managed to escape taking Rahne with him."

"He disapparated," Remus supplied noting the looks of confusion on the mutant's faces he stood. With a loud _CRACK_ he vanished and with a 'pop' he appeared on the other side of the room, "Apparation is a means of travel for wizards and witches. It's an advanced spell that allows us to disappear from one place and instantly appear in another. Because he took Rahne with him and she has no magical capabilities he would have had to use side-long apparation which requires a bit more magic."

"Is there any means of tracing it?" Ororo asked almost hopefully. Remus shook his head sadly. Silence reigned over the room before the professor spoke again.

"You do know what Rahne's mutation is?" Charles asked arching an eyebrow.

"She has the ability to, at will, transform into a wolf or any partial transformation thereof," Remus replied nodding his head before popping it up, "Is her bite cursed?" This question caught everyone off guard.

"What do ya mean by 'cursed', bub?" Logan asked pushing himself off of the wall and clenching a fist.

"I mean . . ." Remus struggled for an explanation, "Has she ever bitten anyone in any of her forms and then something _odd_ has happened to them after the fact." Xavier shook his head.

"As far as we know Rahne has never bitten anyone in any of her forms," Xavier said now eyeing the man. Tempted to look into his mind to see where this was going, Charles resisted and decided to ask some questions of his own.

"Mutations have been genetically linked to the chromosomes of the father," Xavier stated as he studied Remus, "Often times, if the father is a mutant or his genes have been fundamentally altered it is reflected in the mutation of the child. I know of a father and daughter in Ireland who have the exact same mutation . . ."

"If you are asking if I am a mutant, Professor, the answer is no," Remus replied holding his head in one hand.

"Perhaps then something that has altered your DNA?" Hank asked helping the professor along with his line of questioning. A dark look passed over Remus's face and Tonks gave the hand not supporting his head an encouraging squeeze.

"Yes," Remus replied with a cracked voice, "You see when I was a small child I was . . . attacked. I was lucky to have survived at all. But the attack had lingering _complications_."

"Meaning?" Charles prompted highly interested as to where this was going. Remus, never one for having a flair for the dramatic (that was always Sirius in school) decided just to spit it out.

"I am a werewolf." The reaction was mixed. There was shock on the faces of the two women, Scott immediately raised a hand to his glasses, Logan started chuckling and muttering something about this being the icing on the cake, only the Professor and Hank remained impassive.

"Do you know who it was who attacked you?" Hank asked curiously. Remus nodded.

"Fenrir Greyback," Remus practically spat. Something flashed across the Professor's face, but it was gone in an instant and he rolled forward to where Remus was sitting so he was directly in front him.

"Remus," the professor said calmly, "I am going to ask if I can go through your memories. I think something in your memories will be the key to discovering what Voldemort plans on doing with Rahne." Remus, slowly and with some hesitation nodded. "Good, now I need you to just close your eyes and relax." Remus did as Xavier told him to. The Professor then held his hands on either side of Remus's head before he too closed his eyes.

XXXXXXXX

"_Remus," a woman called, "time to come in. It's getting dark out." The six-year-old Remus didn't want to go in yet._

"_Just one more hour, mum!" he called back as he chased his pet dog around some more. The sun had sunk well below the horizon, and the Lupin's backyard was illuminated with light from the house and the full moon. He continued to play when his dog suddenly tensed and began to growl._

"_What is it, Ragweed?" Remus asked as he stared in the same direction his dog was. Taking cautious steps towards the forest he saw a pair of glowing amber eyes staring back at him. Suddenly deciding it was time to go in, Remus backed away slowly from those bodiless eyes and towards the backdoor of his house._

_A long howl rang out and Remus turned and sprinted for the backdoor._

"_MUM!" he hollered as loud as his young lungs would allow him, "DAD!" Remus heard a snarling sound from behind him and chanced a peak over his shoulder. He saw the wolf leap._

_There was pain._

_And the whole world went black . . ._

_XXXXXXXX_

_Remus woke in strange room that was blindingly white. He could hear his mother's muffled sobs as his father's calm voice talked to another unfamiliar one._

"_Is there nothing we can do?" his father asked sounding heartbroken._

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Lupin," the strange voice replied, "On the next full moon, your son will transform. He is now a werewolf."_

_XXXXXXXX_

_Remus didn't want to understand why his mother and father had locked him in the basement. He wanted to be blissfully ignorant. But he couldn't, he knew what he was. He was a beast, a monster._

_Through the door he could hear his mother reassuring him that both she and his father cared about him and loved him and would help him as much as they could. Remus looked out one of the small partial windows of the basement to see the clouds part and the full moon exposed._

_He let out a howl of pain as his body transformed._

_XXXXXXXX_

_Eleven year old Remus stared in wonderment at the man with long slivery gray hair and dark blue robes. Remus knew he was a wizard. The man was the muggle textbook definition of wizard. He had told his father that he was from Hogwarts which confused Remus._

_Remus knew he could do magic, his father was a wizard and he had blown up more tea cups than he could count. But he knew going to Hogwarts was out of the question because of his condition. As if sensing his thoughts the man turned to the young Remus._

"_I believe," the old man said with a twinkle in his eye, "that if proper precautions are made, you should be able to attend Hogwarts, Young Mister Lupin."_

_Remus was so shocked, he actually passed out._

_XXXXXXXX_

_Remus fidgeted as he sat in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He was excited and nervous. Trembling with anticipation. He pulled his book out for his Defense Against the Dark Arts class and decided to read to calm his nerves. He had just finished the first page when his compartment door slammed open and two black haired boys tumbled in shutting the door behind them. Remus stared at them over the top of his book._

"_Um, hi," said a boy with very messy black hair and round glasses, "is it alright if we hide in here?" Remus looked at them with a mixture of confusion and shock._

"_Yes, I guess so," Remus said slowly, "Why exactly are you two hiding?" The black haired boys shared an evil smile._

"_We just played a prank on my older cousin and her git of a boyfriend," said the other boy as he extended his hand, "I'm Sirius Black, one of the few white sheep of the Black family." Remus shook his hand as the other boy extended his._

"_James Potter, Prankster Extraordinaire," the boy with the glasses said with a goofy grin._

"_Remus Lupin," Remus replied slowly still eyeing the two boys when the compartment slid open again and a harassed looking round boy stumbled in._

"_Everywhere else is full," he said tiredly, "can I sit in here?" James and Sirius looked to Remus._

"_It's your compartment, mate," Sirius said leaning back and putting his hands behind his head._

"_Um, yeah," Remus said motioning for the boy to take a seat, "I'm Remus Lupin."_

"_Peter Pettigrew," he replied._

_XXXXXXXX_

_It was late in second year and Remus was in the library bent over a stack of books and parchment. It had taken him longer to recover from his transformation this time, meaning that he missed more classes, meaning that he had more homework to make up. He was so completely into his studies that he didn't notice his three best friends sit down at the table with him._

"_Remus," Sirius said softly startling the studying student. Seeing who it was, Remus gave them a tired smile._

"_Hey guys," he said before looking back to his work, "Just trying to catch up . . ."_

"_We know," James said bluntly. Remus dropped his quill startled he looked up at his friends with a questioning gaze._

"_You know what?" Remus asked with an edge of worry in his voice._

"_We know where you've been going . . ." Sirius began, but Remus cut him off._

"_Of course you do," Remus tried to brush off, "I've told you every time I have to leave for a family emergency."_

"_You leave once a month," Peter piped up and Remus started to get nervous. He looked back to James who was staring at his friend firmly._

"_We know, Remus," James repeated before lowering his voice, "We know that you're a werewolf." Remus felt his heart sink. This was it; they were going to abandon him._

"_Oh," Remus said softly as he stood to leave, "I understand if you don't want to talk to me again, but please don't tell anyone else." He started to gather up his books when Sirius stopped him._

"_We're friends, mate," Sirius said with a smile, "You can trust us with anything. Now sit down and we'll help you with what you've missed." Remus shocked and amazed sunk back into his seat and his three friends helped him catch up._

_XXXXXXXX_

"_You're going to the library, AGAIN?" Sirius asked as a fifteen year old Remus gathered up his books and some parchment, "Why?"_

"_Because I need to finish up my homework, and you three can be very distracting," Remus replied as he friends exchanged smirks._

"_C'mon, Moony," James baited is friend, "Just because you're a prefect doesn't mean that you can't have fun." Remus rolled his eyes and left the room. They had only two weeks until their O.W.L. exams and Remus was studying more than often and he still didn't feel prepared._

_He reached the library and set his bag down on one of the chairs before sinking into the one next to it. He pulled out his books and began working on an essay for Herbology. Halfway through it, he realized that he needed to consult an outside source. Sighing he stood and made his way towards the Herbology section of the library. He scanned the shelves before he spotted it and reached out to take it. As he did so, his hand collided with another that was a lot smaller and had far smoother skin than his._

"_Oh," he heard a soft airy voice mumble, "sorry." Remus turned to the source of the voice and was struck into silence. There stood a blushing girl donned in Ravenclaw robes. Remus instantly took note of the Prefect badge affixed opposite of her house crest. She was looking down at the floor shyly as her long cherry red locks fell hid her face._

"_Um, ah, uh," Remus floundered as he looked at the pretty girl. Wait, he thought she was pretty? The girl giggled lightly at Remus's reaction._

"_You can go ahead and take it," she said lightly, "I don't have Herbology again until Friday . . ."_

"_No, no," Remus interrupted, "That would be rude of me to take it. You had obviously reached for it first . . . uh . . ." He knew she looked familiar, but he couldn't remember her name._

"_Liona," she replied shyly, "Liona Walker." Remus smiled, he liked her name._

"_I'm Remus Lupin," he introduced him self, "You can go ahead and take it, Liona. Just bring it over to me when you're done. I'll be right over there." Remus pointed and Liona nodded wordlessly. With a goofy smile plastered on his face Remus went back to where his books were placed. He sat there tapping his quill on a scrap of parchment, picturing Liona's face when he felt someone sit down next to him. He turned; it was Liona._

"_I, um, thought that we could, you know, share it," Liona stumbled through the sentence as she set her books down and continued to blush, "We must be working on the same essay so we'll need the same pages open . . ." she fell silent blushing to the point where her cheeks matched her hair._

"_Okay," Remus said softly as he gently took the book from her hands and opened it to the pages needed. They both began working on their essays in silence, but every now and then they would brush arms or their knees would bump together because of their close proximity so they could both see the book._

_Suddenly the library was just as distracting as his dorm room._

_XXXXXXXX_

_Remus fidgeted nervously as he waited for Liona to arrive. They had started dating a month after they had met in the library and the many run-ins after that initial one. It was now two years later, and their seventh year was winding down. Both he and Liona had been asked by Dumbledore to join his secret force called the Order of the Phoenix and they had done so willingly along with Sirius, Peter, James, and his girlfriend, Lily Evans._

_Remus let out an anxious sigh as he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his waist. He smiled as he placed his hands on top of hers and felt her bury her face into his back._

"_Hey, Lio," he murmured huskily as he spun to face his girlfriend. She smiled sweetly back at him._

"_Hey, yourself," she said as she stood on her tip-toes to plant a chaste kiss on his lips, "What's so urgent? Something with the Order?" Remus shook his head as he paced three times before a blank wall and a door appeared. Unfazed by this Liona followed Remus as he opened the door and motioned for her to enter. She noted the worry lines around his eyes and started to worry herself._

"_Remus, what's wrong?" she asked placing one hand on the side of his face. Remus sighed tiredly. He knew he had to tell her, he had been keeping it secret for two years. But if their relationship was to progress at all, she had to know._

"_Liona," Remus began softly, "I haven't been completely honest with honest with you."_

"_What do you mean?" Liona asked fearfully. Remus could hear the fear in her voice and motioned for her to sit down. She did so and he sat next to her._

"_Liona, I . . ." he hesitated, "I'm a werewolf." There was silence for a moment before Liona suddenly threw her arms around his neck and kissed his passionately._

"_I don't care, Remus," she said once she had pulled away, "I love you, no matter what you are." Remus smiled._

"_I love you too," Remus said before kissing his girl again._

_XXXXXXXX_

_There was a wedding. Two people: one with black unruly hair, hazel eyes, and round glasses the other with long red hair and bright green eyes._

_James and Lily Potter._

_One of the last times they would ever be truly happy._

_XXXXXXXX_

_There was a waiting room. James and Sirius were pacing around anxiously as they waited for any word from a nurse or doctor. Remus sat calmly holding Liona's hand as they too waited._

_A tired looking nurse came out and approached the pacing men._

"_Mr. Potter?" she asked and he looked at her urgently._

"_Yes?" he asked bouncing on the balls of his feet._

"_Congratulations, you are the father of a healthy baby boy!"_

_XXXXXXXX_

_Another wedding._

_This time the groom was Remus and the bride was Liona. They had said their vows and Remus was filled with so much happiness as he kissed his new wife passionately getting catcalls from all of his friends in the audience._

_He didn't care though._

_He had Liona, and he was happy._

_XXXXXXXX_

_Another waiting room. This time it was Remus and Sirius pacing nervously. James and Lily couldn't be there. They were in hiding from the dark lord._

_Albus Dumbledore was the calm one this time. He had an amused glimmer in his eye as he watched the two pace back and forth._

"_Mr. Lupin?" A young nurse asked as she stepped out of the delivery room._

"_Yes?" he said. The nurse smiled._

"_Congratulations, you are the father of a healthy baby girl!" Remus smiled widely._

"_Can I see them?" He asked and the nurse nodded. He stepped into the sterile room and saw his tired wife holding a small pink bundle. She looked up at him and smiled._

"_Come say hello to your daughter, Rahne," she teased and Remus moved to the side of the bed. He smiled down at the tiny, sleeping form hidden in the layers of pink. He looked at his wife._

"_Rahne?" he asked with an amused smile. She nodded._

"_We agreed if it was a girl, I would get to pick the first name and you would pick the middle," Liona smiled and Remus pondered for a moment._

"_Johanna," he replied, "Rahne Johanna Lupin." Liona snorted with laughter._

"_She'll have the same initials as you," she teased. Remus smiled._

"_That's what I was going for," he teased back, "can I hold my daughter now?"_

_XXXXXXXX_

_It had been one hell of a week. Quite possibly the worst week of Remus's life._

_James was dead._

_Lily was dead._

_Peter was dead._

_And Sirius was a traitor._

_He had lost all of his friends in one week. A lesser man would have gone insane, but Remus wasn't a lesser man. He had a family to love and take care of. He would have to live on after those who he had cared for had died._

_XXXXXXXX_

_It had been almost a year since the death and betrayal of his closest friends. Remus was getting prepared to endure the effects of another full moon, but something felt off. His gut told him that something bad was about to happen._

_Liona had assured him that all would be well, and after she had put Rahne to bed they both had placed protection spells on the girl's room. He was locked in the basement watching the clouds part to reveal the full moon when he heard a female shriek._

_The last thing he heard before he transformed was Liona's scream and a cold human snarl._

_XXXXXXXX_

_Remus pounded on the locked door that kept him trapped in the basement. He was hurt from his self-mutilation as a wolf and also from throwing his body against the door. Something was wrong. He could hear Rahne's cries from her room as the child fussed. Only one thought coursed through Remus's brain._

Where is Liona?

_The door suddenly unlocked and flew open, but it wasn't Liona standing in the light. It was Albus Dumbledore._

"_Where's Liona?" Remus managed to choke out as he clamored to his feet. The elderly headmaster helped to support him._

"_Remus, I . . ." Remus didn't hear the next words come out of the headmaster's mouth. His still sensitive senses were picking up on a pungent, overpowering odor._

_Blood. He knew it was blood._

_Pushing the headmaster weakly aside he ran off to find the source of the blood. He stumbled into the kitchen where he slipped and fell. Pulling himself up he looked at what he had slipped on. It was a congealing red substance._

"_Oh, God, no!" Remus sobbed as he followed the trail of blood with his eyes. There, mangled and nearly unrecognizable was the body of his wife, his Liona. Remus fell to his knees and started to sob uncontrollably over the body of his wife. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest, thrown on the floor, trampled on, and then torn into thousands of pieces. He could hear Rahne's cries die down in the background and Albus stepped into the kitchen._

"_I'm so sorry, Remus," Albus said as his voice cracked with emotion as he looked on from the doorway. He was giving Remus plenty of space which the young man was grateful for. _

"_Who," Remus sobbed, "Who did this?" He demanded to know who had torn his life apart again._

"_Greyback," Albus replied sadly as another wave of grief flooded over the broken man. The man who had nearly destroyed his life the first time had struck again destroying his life for a second time._

_Remus stood shakily as the headmaster supported him and led him out of the kitchen and away from the body of his wife. Rahne started crying again. This time Remus went to her and comforted her. Hearing his voice soothed the wailing child into a light slumber as he rocked her back and forth. Looking down at the form of his one year old daughter in his arms, he turned to her godfather and his last lifeline._

"_Albus, you must take her and hide her," Remus said urgently, "The ministry won't let me keep her because I am a werewolf. They'll take her away and keep me from her. Please Albus don't let them do that." The old man sighed and held out his arms. Remus gently laid the slumbering child in the headmaster's arms._

"_I know a man and wife who will welcome her with open arms and hearts," Dumbledore replied looking at Remus, "she will be safe from the ministry and from Fenrir."_

"_Thank you," Remus said as his eyes filled with tears once more. The old man patted Remus on the back as he leaned forward to kiss Rahne one last time. Albus turned to leave but Remus called out, "Wait!" The injured man limped off to the study and returned a few moments later with a sealed envelope._

"_These are for Rahne and Rahne alone," Remus said handing Dumbledore the parchment envelope. He nodded and tucked it in his robes. Remus looked at his daughter one last time. "I have always and will always love you, Rahne." Albus looked sadly at the worn man before disappearing with a loud _CRACK!

XXXXXXXX

Professor Xavier opened his eyes and set his hands down on his lap as Remus, slightly shaken from having to relive all those harsh memories blinked his eyes open. As he looked at the professor, he didn't see an ounce of pity in those crystal blue eyes. What he did see was immeasurable amounts of respect.

"It was the only thing you could do," Xavier said softly and Remus nodded silently. Xavier sat back in his chair and went over the events he had seen in Remus's mind attempting to piece anything together. He could only see one link in all the memories, and he knew he had to ask.

"Fenrir Greyback is a werewolf correct," Xavier said calmly. Remus nodded.

"He was the one who attacked and cursed me," Remus said weakly, "I found that out about six years after it had happened."

"Did he work for Voldemort in the first wizarding war?" Xavier asked.

"Yes," Remus replied not liking where this was going. Tonks too could see what the professor was getting at.

"It's speculated within the Order that he has ties to the Dark Lord now," Tonks put in weakly as she wrung her hands out of worry for Remus. She knew that this must be very hard and painful for him and she wished she could comfort him.

"I think," Charles said slowly as he massaged his temples, "that if Peter did take her to Voldemort, Voldemort would have, in turn, given her over to Greyback considering the nature of her mutation and her heritage." Remus felt his heart plummet to the floor for a brief moment, and then overcome with an intense wave of anger.

"That monster may have ruined my life," Remus said softly as he quaked with anger, "But I will not allow him to corrupt my daughter."

XXXXXXXX

"Wh-wh-where am I?" the ten year old muggle boy stuttered as he awoke in a cold dark room. He could hear water dripping from the ceiling to the floor and his heart was pounding in his ears. He could hear a shuffling sound and there was a sudden light illuminating the faces of two people.

One was a scary looking older man with mangy unkempt hair and scars all over his face. The other was a young girl, just a few years older than him with cherry red hair pulled back into two low pigtails. She had a blank look in her eyes that was cold and unfeeling and scared the boy. The older man smirked darkly.

"I can smell your fear boy," he growled, "Can you smell it too, Rahne?" The girl nodded and the man smiled again.

"This is your first test, _my daughter_," the man growled again as the boy cowered in fear, "Kill him." Without warning or hesitation the girl lunged for the boy transforming into a wolf in midair. The boy screamed as the large wolf collided into him knocking his head against the wall.

There was pain, and everything went black.


	12. A Warning

**A/N:** While some of the memories seemed insignificant at the time, what Xavier was doing was getting a feel for Remus's past and looking for some link or clue that might tip them off to what Voldemort plans on doing with Rahne. This also serves as a means to introduce a bit of background on Remus since Jinxeh and I have made this an AU fic. While his background holds fairly true to Rowling's, there are some major differences (i.e. Liona).

As for Remus simply being away, we stated earlier that it had been a full moon.

Chapter 5; Paragraph 16 (and I quote):  
_"It was a full moon, you were locked up, and from what I heard, she put up one hell of a fight."_

The parts with the Potters was merely to include background for Xavier and (since this fic is under the X-men Evolution heading) for the readers who are unfamiliar with the Harry Potter story and all the connections and whatnot. I'm terribly sorry if you found this to be "taking up space" and "detracting from the story". It's all good though; people make mistakes and are prone to confusion so if anyone has any questions, feel free to leave it in a review. Which reminds me: Rahne is a year younger than the trio and the same age a Ginny.

I believe that is all for now, just a few last minute details: This is a Jinxeh chapter and there are only three more chapters until THE Chapter 15 . . . you will all understand in time . . . Speaking of: Hey Jinxeh, do you think when we hit 15 we should bump up the rating?

Cheers!

* * *

Chapter 12: A Warning

Fenrir allowed himself a small and wicked smile as he stood in the stone doorway of the small room that the girl was being kept in. He couldn't help it; it had just crept onto his lips when he had seen what sort of condition that the girl was in after he had taken the curse from her once again. He still had to dispose of the boy's body, but first he wanted to see how his newfound apprentice had taken to the killing he had set her in doing.

Leading her back into the room had been easy enough; he had simply ordered her away from the boy after the deed had been done and then had beckoned for her to follow him, still in her wolf form. He had put her back into the small stone room. He had taken the curse away once more.

This time, he was not doing it so as to toy with her emotions. No…he was genuinely curious as to what the girl would do once it had been taken away. What he had found and was still seeing was astounding to him. He had expected it to be as before, although surely worse; he had expected her to begin screaming at him and lunging once more. He would have been fine with that; it would have meant he would just have to teach her another lesson. However, it appeared that she did not wish to attack him again.

Instead, she was just lying there, still in her wolf form, having collapsed to the cold stone ground in one bloodied heap. She had not moved from that position since he had taken the curse away, and nor did she even try to turn back into a regular human girl.

She just lay there, nothing moving except her chest and her eyes, which were blinking furtively. Blood was splattered over her snout and neck, along with the sprays of blood all splash around her, soaked into her fur. She was beyond moving or attacking…it appeared as if she were beyond doing much of anything.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew what she had just done, and to an innocent little boy…how could she have not been able to fight against _doing_ that? She could still remember the look in his eyes that she had seen a second before she had jumped for him. There was a terror to be seen there unlike any other that she had ever seen…and it was one that she never wanted to see again.

"Did you enjoy that, my sweet?" Fenrir crooned, chancing to walk into the room fully, his wand in his hand and on guard, just in case it was all an act. "I have to say…curse or no, you did quite well. What did you think? Did you enjoy it?"

She didn't answer him verbally, instead suddenly giving a wolf-like whine and burying her snout and the most of her head behind one of her paws, as though trying to hide from him. Her tail was suddenly kept firmly between her legs, and her legs were kept close to her body, as though she were trying to make herself seem as small as possible.

"Come now," said Fenrir with the shake of his head. "It couldn't have been that bad," he whispered as he crouched next to her, one hand trailing lazily over the back of her furry neck, not seeming to mind all of the blood that was caking it as he did. "Deep down…you know that it was a rush. To know…another person's life was in your control…"

She gave a dog-like whine again, her body and her muscles shuddering underneath the coarse fur that covered her. She wanted to attack him, she did…but somehow she knew that she couldn't. She couldn't attack somebody else like that…she could never do that to someone again, no matter who it was…

"It was a bit of a shock to me too," he sighed dreamily. "My first kill. I had some strange feelings on it after it was over and done with…but all in all…I enjoyed it," he said with a grin, exposing his teeth. "Someday, you will too. You should listen when I talk to you, you know. You know I'm right…"

She didn't answer at all this time; not even to let out a pitiful whine, or any other wolf or dog-like sound to him. He grinned. Either that meant that she was listening to him, or she had fallen far too deep into her own despair to answer him. Either way, he was enjoying this.

"Well…we'll try again, sometime soon," he promised her, moving his hand from the back of her neck and standing on once more. "If you will excuse me; I have a body to clear. Get some rest, _my daughter_," he added with a laugh as he raised his wand and pointed it at her once more.

"_Imperio_!"

XXXXXXXX

"I'll be damned before I let that man get his hands on my daughter!" Remus fumed later that night as he paced back and forth in the cavernous kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Besides himself, Sirius was the only other person in the room at the time, though he was actually sitting at the table while he watched his friend pace. Remus had just finished telling Sirius what Xavier had told him back at the hotel.

"No one knows that he's going to get her for sure," said Sirius evenly as he pulled the top off of a bottle of Odgen's Old Firewhiskey and poured some into the two small glasses that were on the table in front of him. "Here, take this," he said, practically shoving one of the glasses into Remus's hands as he passed him yet again. He took it without complaint, but didn't drink out of it just yet.

"No, Charles Xavier is right!" Lupin exclaimed, running his free hand, which was the one not holding onto the alcohol, through his brown and silver hair in frustration. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked in surprise, suddenly looking up at the other man from his own glass. "This isn't _your_ fault…"

"I was an idiot to think that Rahne would have ever been really safe," said Remus between gritted teeth before he turned around to face his friend. "I knew that as long as Fenrir was still alive and free, there was no _way_ that she would have been completely safe from him…I should have never sent her away…"

"You did what you thought was right for her," protested Sirius as he hurriedly got out of his seat and put his glass of firewhiskey on the table. "And anyone who knew what was right for their own children would have done the same. The Ministry would have taken her away from you, and then you'd be lucky to have any idea of knowing where she was," he added grimly. "At least with the Sinclairs you knew where she was…"

"'Knew' being the key word here," said Remus miserably, staring down into his glass with a frown pasted onto his pale face. "Now no one knows…this is all my fault," he muttered as Sirius took him by his shoulders and steered him towards the nearest chair. He didn't protest when Sirius made him sit down, but wouldn't look up at him as he took the seat next to him either.

"Listen, Moony," said Sirius with a slight scowl. "This is not, I _repeat_, this is _not_ your fault! So many lives have been ruined by Voldemort and all of his little cronies already…this is all _his_ fault," he said surely. "But you have to stop worrying so much."

This caused the werewolf to look up at him again, this time his face being set in a mask of shock and anger. There was a certain fire to be seen in his eyes, and it was one that Sirius had hardly ever seen before.

"Stop _worrying_ so much?" he repeated in disbelief. "Sirius…my daughter could be in the hands of a homicidal _maniac_! How can I not _worry_ about that?"

"I'm just saying," said Sirius with a scowl, "That worrying about this isn't going to be solving any problems here. It's not helping you keep a clear head, and that's what you need right now."

"I can't help but worry about this, though!" protested Remus. "What else am I supposed to do? I can't think straight…I can't do anything without thinking about her, and without wondering if she is all right! My God…she could be _dead_ by now, and none of us could know about it!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking with the last sentence.

"She's not dead," Sirius said adamantly. "Pettigrew wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble in taking her if she knew that she would have been killed for it anyways. I think that this Xavier guy is right…they're going to try to use her against us," he said grimly.

"What am I supposed to do about this?" Remus whispered as he swirled the contents of his glass around in a circle inside of the cup it had been put in. "I can't…I can't just sit here while I know this is happening to her…"

"What are you going to do?" asked Sirius with a raised eyebrow as he watched the other man set his still-full glass on top of the table and suddenly stand up. "Moony, where are you going?"

"I just…I need to walk…" Remus muttered as he grabbed his cloak from the back of another chair and pulling it on quickly. "I can't just sit here talking about it; I need to get out of here before I drive myself completely insane."

Sirius didn't respond to this; he simply raised an eyebrow and watched silently as his friend strode forwards and walked out of the kitchen and up the small flight of stairs that led up to the main hallway. Half-expecting to suddenly hear his mother's screaming, he listened for it. All he heard, however, was a series of clicks and clacks as the front door was unlocked, and then the same sounds when it was opened and shut again.

"Oi…" said Sirius heavily, taking the glass that Remus had not even drunken out of in his hands, "I think it's a bit too late for you to try and avoid that, Moony…" he muttered before he downed most of the glass in one gulp.

XXXXXXXX

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Jamie nervously as he, Cadence, Jubilee and Kitty walked slowly down the hallway of the hotel, making their way as quietly as they could towards the stairway at the end. They were doing their best not to cause any noise, since all of the doorways surrounding them belonged to the X-Men and the other trainees, but so far they had not run into any problems. "What if somebody hears us?"

"Nobody will hear us if you just shut up," muttered Jubilee darkly. "You've been asking the same thing for the last five minutes. Now shut it!"

"But I'm just saying…" said Jamie with a slightly hurt expression. "How will we even know where to start looking for her?" he asked as they reached the stairway and, finding it to be teacher-free, began to descend. "She could be anywhere!"

"Anything is better than sitting here and doing nothing," said Cadence adamantly. "I would rather be scouring the city for clues when I know that I have a very small chance of finding any, rather than stay here and wait for someone else to find Rahne."

"Besides, Cadence is better than any of us, maybe even Logan, at tracking people down," said Kitty surely. "If anyone's going to be able to find Rahne, it's her."

"If Logan finds out about this he'll ground us until we graduate," Jamie groaned.

"No one's forcing you to come, you know!" Jubilee snapped. "If you don't want to come, then just go back to your room, _okay_?"

After that, Jamie decided that it would be very wise to keep his mouth shut, or else the older mutant students might have decided to make him stay anyways. Not that that was exactly fair…he was the one who had the chance to apprehend the three wizards down in the lobby, after all. Even if they weren't really a threat to the X-Men, or Rahne, he could have stopped them if he wanted to. He felt a small swelling of pride in his chest when he thought of this.

"All right…" said Jubilee as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and she had poked her head around the corner of the short hallway that led into the main lobby. "I think that the guy that's usually at the front desk stepped out or something, so we should go now."

"Sweet," said Jamie with a grin, going first. Of course…in this case, going first and ahead of the other students also meant that he was the first person that Logan chose to grab by the scruff of his neck as he came around the corner.

"Nice try, runts," he growled as the others came around the corner, stopping short at the sight of him. He had been leaning against the wall just on the other side of the barrier of the lobby, meaning they couldn't have seen him when they first looked into the reception area. Silently, Cadence was cursing herself for not having smelled him sooner…

Logan let Jamie go and allowed him to scramble back to the older kids, who he dutifully hid behind as though to use them all as shields against his grumpy-looking teacher.

"And what exactly did you four think you were doing?" asked Logan with a raised eyebrow. "You weren't planning on going out and searching for a certain friend of yours, were ya?"

"Um…no?" tried Jubilee uncertainly. His glare was enough to keep her from saying anything else.

"Back upstairs, you four," he said sternly, crossing his arms and staring down at them all with such a look of ferociousness that it would have made even the bravest of men want to run and cower. Jubilee, Kitty, and Jamie did just that, in their own way, by turning around and bolting up the stairs once more. That just left Cadence, who was standing there with her own arms crossed, and a less threatening glare on her face.

"That means you too, Girl," said Logan, his voice tinged with just a hint of amusement. He always had to wonder if he had been anything like her during his youth. Wondering about that was really all he had, as he couldn't remember any of his own childhood…

"Why won't you let us help?" she asked stubbornly.

"Because, you don't know what you're doing," Logan answered truthfully. "You can't just plan on wandering around the city and hoping to sniff her out or something. We don't even know if she's in London anymore."

"We won't know that for sure until we look for her," Cadence muttered.

"Which is something you need to leave to the X-Men," said Logan severely. "Now, get upstairs."

Surprisingly, she decided to listen to him this time, though it was to be said that there was a certain amount of hesitation as she did. When she finally turned around and began stalking up the stairs towards the second floor again, Logan allowed himself to sigh before he, once again, leaning back against the wall.

"Damn kids…" he muttered as he stuck a cigar into his mouth. "They can't possibly think they're the first to try sneakin' down here tonight…"

XXXXXXXXX

Remus Lupin wasn't entirely sure why it was that his 'walk' had taken him to the front doors of the hotel that the X-Men were staying at. It had just…happened. As soon as he had left the property of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, he had apparated away to a spot just a couple of blocks from the hotel, and his feet just seemed to take him to the front doors without his knowing it.

By this time it had started to rain, and yet he had done nothing to protect himself from the cold droplets that had already soaked him through. His lanky hair had taken on a darker tone and was stuck to his scalp; his clothing and his cloak were heavy dripping. He was a sorry sight right then; but it didn't look like he really cared about that at the moment.

By the time he finally took a shuddering breath and stepped up to the doors, with one hand out and about to reach for the doorknob when it swung open without his help. He took a step back as the door came towards him, and found that he was looking into the face of the man he knew was called Logan.

"Saw you standin' out there," he said as he moved aside to allow the man admittance into the main lobby, which he took gratefully. "I know you Brits are used to this weather, but damn…

"I was just…taking a walk," muttered Lupin as he stepped inside of the lobby. Immediately, he was suddenly very cold. The hotel had air conditioning going, and it was freezing him to the bone seeing as he was already wet.

"Some walk," said the man with a frown as he allowed for the door to close again. "You need a towel or something?"

"No…I don't plan on staying long," said Lupin emotionlessly as he looked around the posh lobby. "You don't sleep?" he asked, unsure of what the man's mutation was.

"Someone's gotta stop the kids from sneaking out," Logan sighed. "I just had to make four of 'em go back upstairs, and about six of them before that. They're trying to sneak out to find her."

He didn't need to elaborate; the word 'her' was enough for Lupin to know who he was talking about. For some reason, this made him smile just a little bit despite the situation occurring at the time. It was apparent that Rahne had friends that cared for her, just as he had when he had been in school. She seemed to have led a good life from what he had managed to see; judging from the worry of the couple that raised her, and the concern of the mutants that he had just met.

"What…what was she like?" Lupin asked suddenly, turning around to look at the other man, who was still standing by the doorway. He just had to know what she was like…he had missed out on her entire childhood, but this man had gotten to know her better than he, her father, had been able to.

"Rahne?" asked Logan, noticing how strange it was for him to actually say the girl's name instead of her nickname, like he did with most of the other mutant students. "Hard to say, really. She was the only person willin' to have the Girl as a roommate. They helped each other, I guess. She was always a bit of a smart-ass too though, if you don't mind me sayin' it," he added in a mutter. For some reason, this seemed to amuse Lupin. She must have gotten that from her mother… "Good student…didn't listen to orders much, though. Not much respect for authority, either, but she was devoutly religious. She went to church with Kurt every Sunday."

"The typical teenager, then?" asked Lupin with a small sigh.

"Pretty much," said Logan easily, before he suddenly growled and looked towards the stairway again. "Girl! Back upstairs!"

Lupin blinked and looked around just in time to see a slight figure retreating around the corner, able to hear her slight footsteps as she hurried up the stairway once again.

"Cadence," muttered Logan as he saw the other man's inquisitive expression. Lupin smiled slightly.

"Your daughter?"

"Eh…somethin' like that," said Logan with a shrug, not exactly willing to get into specifics like that, especially with someone that he barely knew and had only known for a small while.

It was difficult to be short with this man, however, as Logan soon found. Although a little apprehensive about why he had just shown up at the hotel in the middle of the night, even Logan didn't have it in him to just tell him to leave. He could smell the despair coming from the man as though it were a powerful sort of cologne, and the haunted look in his sunken eyes gave him the appearance of a man who had just lost his hope for the world.

"Don't worry about it," he said gruffly, not used to being the consoler in this situation. "Chuck's already gone; he and Hank took the jet back to the States and are goin' back to the school. He's got this machine he uses to find mutants…if Rahne uses her powers then he might be able to locate her."

He decided against mentioning the fact that Cerebro might not have worked in this case. Tonks had already explained to the mutants that magic would cause electronic devices to short out or not work properly, especially in areas where the magic was plentiful. True, Cerebro was more about intensifying the Professor's psychic powers, but since technology was what was used to do this…there was every chance that he would not be able to find her.

"Chuck?" asked Lupin with a frown.

"Er…Xavier."

"Ah," said the werewolf with a sigh. "I just thought I might come by to see if you've found out anything else…"

"Nothin' yet, but we're hopeful," said Logan, lying between his teeth.

XXXXXXXXX

A couple of minutes later, Remus Lupin was walking down the street once more, his head bowed against the rain as he walked away from the hotel. He could have apparated back to Grimmauld Place, but at the time…he really didn't want to go back there just yet. He just needed some time alone, to think.

XXXXXXXXX

By the time that Fenrir Greyback unlocked the door to Rahne's small holding room early the next morning; the spell had worn off again. He had figured that it would have by that time, but it surprised him to find that she was sleeping when he opened the door.

He was not a complete idiot; he had seen the haunted expression on her face the night before, and had been able to recognize it whether or not she was even human-looking at the time. The last thing he would have expected her to have been doing was sleeping.

When he stepped into the room however, he found also to his surprise that she was in her human form, and holding what appeared to be some sort of photograph in her hands. She was curled up in a sort of fetal position by the far wall, only one hand away from her body, and it was that hand that held the photo. He frowned as he stepped up to her.

Her backpack had still been on her when Pettigrew had taken her; Fenrir knew that for a fact. However, it had been taken away from her before he himself had taken her away from the Dark Lord, and he had no clue as to where it was now. He had been under the assumption that she had had no personal belongings on her when he had taken her underground.

But then again, as he went closer to the picture and the girl, he was able to take notice of the creases in the picture itself. It had probably been in the pocket of her pants during the whole time. Careful so as not to wake the girl, he gently reached down and took it from her loose fingers. When she did not stir or give any sign to indicate that she would awaken, he stood up again and backed away so as to see it better in the dim lighting that came through the open doorway behind him.

"Well then," he said after a moment. "How _sweet_…" he sneered as he looked down at the two people in the moving photograph in his hands. There was a definite crease in the middle of the photo, but apart from that there were just a few smaller folds along it. It would have been in fairly good condition if it weren't for the dried and bloody fingerprints all over it. Remus and Liona Lupin were on the front, looking merry and twirling one another around. On the back were the words "Remus and Liona Lupin, 1980", which were barely visible because of the drying and almost brown blood smeared along the back.

"The thing looks like it was at a murder scene…" said Fenrir thoughtfully before he cracked a grin. "Ah…but it _was_, wasn't it?"

As he stared down at the photo in his hands, his grin grew even larger as he thought about what he could do with this picture.

XXXXXXXX

Xavier was not having much luck with locating the young mutant girl by means of Cerebro, and it was quite frustrating to him. He and Hank had jetted back to the States just to go back to the school and use the blasted machine, and now he could not even find the girl they had all been searching for! It had been a hectic twenty-four hours (though it could have been more at that time; everything just seemed so jumbled right now…) and so this was most certainly not what he needed.

With a sigh he pressed down on some of the control panels yet again as he sat in his chair at the end of the extended walkway before closing his eyes and concentrating again. It was rather stressful for him to have to concentrate on finding mutant signatures all the way in London, England, but what choice did he really have in the matter?

He mentally reached further and further from the school itself, and the base of operations until the feeling of mutant signatures came over him again, these ones more concentrated than the others located all around the world. His students, no doubt.

And yet, no matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn't find a single hint of the mutant known as Rahne Sinclair among them, or anywhere around them. It had to have been at least the fifth time that he had tried.

He sincerely doubted the worst; that she could have been dead. Peter Pettigrew had obviously thought her to be of much importance seeing as he had gone through all of the trouble of kidnapping her in the middle of a crowded wizarding tavern. He wouldn't have done it for any apparent reason. At least, he had to hope that…

The only explanation that he could come up with was that, perhaps, she was either not using her mutant abilities, or something was shielding her from his mind as he searched for her. This wasn't exactly a surprise to him; he had to wonder what kind of an effect magic would have on this so-called "muggle" technology…

XXXXXXXX

The end of a long night and the beginning of a morning that wasn't showing very much promise either brought the members of the Order of the Phoenix no solace when it came to Remus Lupin and the situation at hand. At Grimmauld Place, Molly Weasley woke the children up at the crack of dawn, fed them breakfast, and set them to work with cleaning some of the unused upstairs bedrooms. Moody had already checked them out to make sure there would be no "surprises" for the teenagers to stumble onto, and it kept them out of the way for a while.

Mrs. Weasley had been awake when Remus Lupin had walked in sometime shortly before dawn that morning, soaked to the bone and with a woeful expression on his face. When she questioned him in the downstairs hallway in concern, he simply shrugged silently and walked up stairs to his room, where he shut and locked the door. She decided against confronting him again.

"This is horrible," said Mrs. Weasley with a heartfelt sigh as she set a sponge and scrubber to work to clean the dishes in the sink of the kitchen with her wand. "The poor man…you should have seen him when he walked in here."

"Remus doesn't want our pity, Molly," said Sirius evenly as he bit into a piece of bacon while he sat at the table behind her. "All he wants is his kid back. No amount of feeling sorry for him is going to accomplish that, and I'm sure he doesn't appreciate it much."

"Well what do you except me to do?" asked Molly snappily as she turned to face him with a slight glare on her face. "Just ignore what is going on with him?"

"If that's what really helps him, then yes," answered Sirius simply. "Feeling sorry for him is going to achieve nothing but making him feel even worse."

"He may be right, Molly," said Arthur Weasley evenly, making her settle her death glare on him instead. "I mean to say…the only thing that's going to help him now is if this…Rahne…is taken from the clutches of the Death Eaters," he added in a slightly meeker tone.

"It's probably not helping that the children know, either," added Tonks with a frown. "Every time you walk up to them they suddenly stop talking. Either Fred and George had done something bad, or they're talking about all of this," she sighed, stirring a spoon idly in her mug of hot chocolate.

"I'll have to have a talk with them later," Molly said with a worried expression. "They need to be more careful…"

But she trailed off upon turning around and hearing the sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen itself, thinking it might have been one of the teenagers, only to sigh in relief when she saw it was actually Albus Dumbledore. Then that relief went away very quickly when she saw the expression that was upon his face.

"Uh-oh…that can't mean anything good," Sirius muttered as he, Arthur, and Tonks all stood up as the headmaster walked into the office holding something small and square in one of his hands.

"It doesn't, I'm afraid," Albus sighed. "Molly, where's Remus?"

"Upstairs, I believe," answered the woman, her eyes looking at the small square in Dumbledore's hand with a dubious expression. "Albus, is that…_blood_…on that paper there?"

Of course, her question made everyone else in the room look down at Dumbledore's hand in shock. The mention of the word 'blood' often had that effect with used in the context of a sentence like that.

"I believe so," answered the elder wizard, holding it up so that they could see it was not a paper after all, but a photograph instead. All they could see of it was the back, but despite the brown and red bloodstains and fingerprints all over the white backside they could still read the heavy black writing along the center.

"What do you have that for?" asked Sirius in amazement, coming forwards and squinting at it. "Remus and Liona Lupin? Blimey, what _happened_ to this thing?" he asked as he took it carefully from Albus's hands and flipped it over. The front was as heavily covered with blood as the back had been; maybe even more so, because he could hardly make out the figures of Remus and Liona moving along on the black and white surface.

"I don't know," said Dumbledore with a grim frown as the others crowded around to look at the bloodied picture. "It was sent to Hogwarts this morning by owl, but since I was not there at the time, Minerva collected it and sent it along to me."

"What do you suppose it means, though?" asked Tonks nervously. "Who sent it?"

"I found that out when I went to talk with Rahne's instructors at their hotel. According to her small friend, Cadence I believe was her name, this photo belonged to her. Right now I am under the assumption that it was Fenrir Greyback who sent it to us," he said dourly.

"Greyback?" asked Tonks, the name ringing a bell in her mind. "Oh, Merlin no! He's the one who bit Lupin and killed his wife! Dumbledore are you sure?" The old man nodded his head slightly.

"Why would he send this to you?" asked Molly fearfully. "Wait…this…this doesn't mean that it's he who has her, does it?"

"That is just the assumption," said the headmaster quickly. "More of a theory, really…"

"Then why would he send this to you?" asked Sirius in distaste as he handed the photograph back to him. As concerned as Sirius for Rahne, he couldn't help but be wary of the bloodstains upon the photograph meaning that he didn't want to hold onto it for too long. Dumbledore took it again and looked down at it, a sad kind of sparkle to be seen in his blue eyes before speaking.

"If I had to guess…I would say that he has sent this to us as a warning."


	13. The Newest Members

**A/N:** The verdict is in kids . . . the rating will stay the same.

But here is your warning from here on out: **_Things are not going to be pretty._**

This is the first chapter of several that will be more on the violent side. That's the route this story has taken, and it's a medium for contrasting the difference between good and evil, and how evil will do anything at any cost to achieve their ultimate ends.

If you do not like violence, I'm sorry, but it will get increasingly violent from here on out. If you can't handle this chapter, then you won't be able to take what's coming up in the future. Namely Chapter 15. Only two more chapters Jinxeh . . . buwhahahahahahaa!

Don't worry, you'll understand in time . . .

Last note: This is a chapter by yours truly. I'm sorry if you all have felt a lull in the action, it will pick back up now . . .

Cheers!

* * *

Chapter 13: The Newest Members

Dumbledore knocked softly on Remus's door. He heard a low groan come from within and a muttered response. There was the shuffling of feet across the floor followed by the sound of the bolt turning and the door swung open revealing a very tired and slightly damp looking Remus. It had almost made the old Headmaster smile to see one of his former professors wrapped in a large, fuzzy blue bathrobe. Had the circumstances been different, he probably would have chuckled, but fate had played the cards a certain way and Dumbledore was always one to deal with whatever fate had handed him.

"Albus," Remus said startled, "have you heard any news? Anything at all?" Dumbledore sighed heavily. He knew that this was not going to go over well.

"May I come in Remus?" Dumbledore asked softly and the worn man waved him in, "You may want to sit down." Remus mechanically sat down in the desk chair without taking his eyes off the elderly man. Dumbledore sat directly opposite of him.

"What is it, Albus?" Remus demanded impatiently and Dumbledore could clearly see the worry in his eyes. Dumbledore slowly pulled the bloody picture from within his robes and handed it gingerly to Remus as though it would crumble to dust the moment he relinquished it.

"I'm so sorry, Remus," Albus nearly stuttered, "An owl delivered it this morning to Hogwarts. It had flown off before Minerva could put a tracing spell on it." Remus sat completely still and looked disbelievingly at the photograph. He stayed that way for a few minutes as silence hung thick in the air.

"No, _no_, _NO!_" Remus shouted flinging the picture away as though it was silver, "It can't be! My God, Albus, this can't be happening! Not to my little girl! Please don't tell me that she's dead! God, Rahne, I'm sorry. My poor, baby girl, I am so sorry." The last part was nearly intelligible because Remus had broken down into sobs and buried his face in his hands. He was crying profusely and loudly, and Albus quickly moved to his side to comfort the younger man. Sobs wracked Remus's slight frame, as Albus gently patted him on the back.

"Remus, I need you to calm down," Albus said soothingly, "It's not Rahne's blood. I'm almost positive Rahne is alive." Remus's sobbing seemed to quell slightly as he began to regain his composure.

"H-h-h-how do you know?" Remus stuttered hastily wiping away the tears streaming down his face. Albus patted Remus on the back once more before stepping away to allow Remus some space.

"I know because I visited those from the Xavier Institute before I came here," Dumbledore said calmly reclaiming his chair, "The young girl who is your daughter's friend, Cadence, told me that it was the picture she had of you and Liona. Logan assured me that it was not her blood on the picture, but that it smelled strongly of her and another person." Remus tensed visibly.

"Did he say anything about this other person?" Remus asked hoarsely. Dumbledore nodded.

"Male," Albus replied morosely, "probably about fifty years old and something very _animalistic_ about his scent . . ." Remus swore very loudly.

"Greyback," he practically snarled as he paced around the room, "That bloody bastard has my daughter. I swear to Merlin that when I get my hands on him . . ." Before Remus could go into any colorful, and probably violent, descriptions of what he would do to the current captor of his daughter Albus cleared his throat loudly drawing Remus out of his brutal thoughts.

"Getting angry isn't going to help Rahne," Albus practically scolded Remus, "You must calm down if you want to be any help to your daughter." Remus sighed heavily in a futile attempt to relax. "Very good." Remus looked at the discarded photograph on the ground.

"Albus," Remus said tiredly, "if that isn't her blood, then whose is it?" Anxiety and fear crept into his eyes once again.

"I don't have an answer for that," Dumbledore replied sadly, "I think this may be seen as a warning or threat from Fenrir, confirming our fears that he does indeed have Rahne." Remus sighed tiredly as hot tears threatened to burst forth once again. The sleepless night before was finally taking its toll on him, he was an emotional wreck.

"Merlin, Albus," Remus sighed, "I just feel so helpless." Dumbledore patted him on the back.

"Do not fear," Dumbledore said soothingly as he stood, "We will get Rahne back safe and sound. Now I must be off," Dumbledore sounded tired, "I have a few leads on things that I need to follow up, including ones on Rahne." Before Remus could say another word, the headmaster had vanished from his room.

XXXXXXXX

Nearly a week had passed since Rahne's abduction, and school was going to be starting up soon for the students of Xavier's Institute. Deciding that the younger students needed to return to the states to resume their education, Xavier sent for them to return, and that the older students who had graduated would remain in England with the Order and continue searching for Rahne.

Needless to say some were displeased with this arrangement . . .

"I want to stay and help look for Rahne!" Cadence demanded angrily of Logan. The students had all packed up their things and were preparing to leave the hotel, but Cadence was furious with her father for making her go back to the states.

"I know, kid," Logan attempted to reason with his 'daughter,' "but your education comes first." Logan was nearly forced to scoff at himself, because he knew he was just feeding her a line. The other students and several members of the Order who were present watched on in fascination as the two stared each other down.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Cadence growled causing Mrs. Weasley to gasp at her use of language. Logan's eyes narrowed as he growled lowly.

"Watch your language, Girl," Logan replied, "You're going back to the Institute and that's final." Cadence's eyebrows shot up in a disbelieving gesture as she crossed her arms across her chest in a show of defiance. There was a strange glimmer in her eyes that the others couldn't place, but Logan knew it well. He was pretty sure he had seen it in his own eyes long ago . . .

"You realize that if you force me to go back," Cadence began arrogantly, "I'll just leave and find Rahne on my own. I have resources you know . . ." The others students shuttered to think what those resources were exactly, but the wizards (unknowing of Cadence's past) looked at each other clueless. Logan rolled his eyes in frustration.

"Fine, Cadence," Logan gave in eventually with a tired sigh, "You'll stay, but because you are staying you follow my orders, understood? No running off on your own." Cadence nodded firmly and relaxed her stance.

"Hey," Kitty protested, "She's, like, younger than me and Kurt, and she isn't even an X-man yet! How come she gets to stay?" Logan's response was a sudden _snick_ as his claws slid out of his knuckles. This startled the wizards who were unaware of Logan's mutation, but Kitty and Kurt rolled their eyes.

"You know _Herr_ Logan," Kurt began sourly, "One day ve vill not accept that as _eine antwort_ **(1)**." Logan just growled. The students quickly said their good-byes and the younger students left with Ororo, Kitty, and Kurt.

There were now seven mutants who would be staying at the Order headquarters while the search for Rahne continued. Logan, obviously, had decided to stay. Scott, Jean, Rogue, Remy, and Piotr were all out of high school and had been designated to behind and help Logan. And of course Cadence who had convinced Logan to allow her to stay. The remaining mutants turned to the wizards awaiting the next move.

"Right then," the man who had been introduced as Arthur Weasley said stepping forward and pulling out a piece of paper, "This is the address for the Order headquarters. Look at it and memorize it." The mutants looked at the small slip of parchment paper. The handwriting was loopy and curly, but strangely elegant.

_The Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England._

The mutants memorized the statement and Arthur destroyed the piece of paper with a small burst of flame that shot out of the tip of his wand. Breaking into pairs, one mutant, one wizard, they disapparated to the headquarters one pair at a time. The first to go were Logan and Arthur, followed by Molly Weasley and Jean Grey. After them, Scott and Bill vanished from the hotel, and shortly after them Rogue and Tonks vanished. Remy vanished with the tall Kingsley Shacklebolt and Piotr left with the strange looking Moody.

That left Remus paired up with his daughter's best friend, Cadence.

"Hold on tightly," Remus instructed extending his arm out to her. Cadence grabbed his arm, but not before she said something.

"She was looking for you, you know," she said softly, "she wanted nothing more than to find her mom and dad." Remus's eyes glossed over with tears.

"I know," Remus said softly and Cadence grabbed hold of his arm, "Thank you." The two vanished with a loud _CRACK_.

XXXXXXXX

Candence felt like her whole body was being pushed through a small, compressed tube. As soon as the feeling passed, she opened her eyes to see the door to a house popping out from between two other houses. Nartually, her programming went back to her training lessons from HYDRA as she tried to place the sight.

"That is not normal," she said cocking her head to one side as Remus led her up the steps and to the door.

"Of course not," Remus replied with a slight smile, "it's magic." He swung the door open and they were instantly accosted with a loud screeching sound. The six other mutants were staring in wonder as Tonk apologized profusely to Molly while Bill and Kingsley attempted to shut the curtains that hung on the either side of a large portrait of a woman who was _moving and screaming_.

"ALL OF YOU DISGUST ME! YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME INTO THE WIZARDING WORLD. MOSTERS, MUDBLOODS, AND BLOOD TRAITORS! YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO THE HELLHOLE YOU CRAWLED OUT OF, YOU VILE, LOATHSOME, UNWORTHY BEINGS! HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK OF CALLING YOURSELF WIZARDS AND WITCHES! YOU WANT THE PURE STRAINS TO DIE OUT DON'T YOU? YOU WANT TO KILL OFF THE LAST OF WHAT IS GOOD AND PURE IN WIZARDING BLOODLINES! YOU PESTILENCIAL, WICKED, GOOD FOR NOTHING THINGS. YOU DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE CALLED HUMAN!"

"Not again," Remus muttered as he closed the door behind him and Cadence and moved to help Bill and Kingsley. The mutants looked at each other as the men attempted to close the curtains without any success. Tonks and Molly and ran off to go get someone named Sirius.

"Hey Gumbo," Logan asked looking at the Cajun Casanova, "ever charmed a painting before?" Remy laughed huskily.

"_Non_," he replied taking a step forward, "But dere's a firs' time fer everyt'ing, _homme_." Remy confidently walked up to the portrait making sure his sunglasses were secure. The woman seeing his approach turned her verbal onslaught to him.

"I'M SURE YOU'RE ANOTHER ONE OF THEOSE GOOD FOR NOTHING MUDBLOODS," she sneered looking down at him condescendingly, "MORE FILTH IN MY HOUSE!"

"_M'excuser_, _mademoiselle_**(2)**," Remy attempted but she cut him off.

"ARE YOU ATTEMPTING TO TALK TO ME, YOU FILTHY LOW LIFE?" the woman shrieked, "I WOULD NEVER! YOUR KIND DESERVED TO BE HUNG, YOU MUGGLE INGRATE! FILTH, TRASH, THE HOUSE OF BLACK HAS BEEN RUINED BY DISGUSTING GARBAGE!"

"_Mademoiselle,"_ Remy attempted smoothly once more not losing his charming smile, "Remy didn' mean ta upset ya. He's jus' here visitin'. He'd never want ta upset a _belle femme_, such as yaself." This shut the portrait up instantly as well as earning Remy strange glances from the three attempting to close the curtains.

"I, WELL, I-I-I," The portrait stuttered blushing furiously. Remy smiled cockily. He knew he had her.

"What's your name, _chéri_?" Remy drawled and drew the last word out letting it roll lazily off his tongue. The portrait blushed even further.

"Deirdra Black," she said proudly. A slow lazy smile spread across his face as he gazed at the portrait.

"A _belle_ name, for such a _belle femme_," Remy said before giving a slight bow, "Remy LeBeau, _Mademoiselle_ Black." To the surprise, and disgust of those who had dealt with Mrs. Black's portrait before, she tittered with laughter.

"Oh, please young man," she said coyly flashing the ring on her finger, "I'm a married woman." Remy pouted.

"_Quel dommage_**(3)**!" Remy exclaimed, "But it is understandable, such a _p'tite bijou_ **(4)** like ya must've had de _hommes_ knocking ya door down." Once again, Mrs. Black went into a fit of giggles before letting out a slow yawn. The instant she did, the three at the curtains flung them shut. Remy turned back to Logan who was shaking his head in amazement.

"Cajun," he said with a slight smile on his face, "I don't know whether to be amazed or disgusted." A cocky smile graced Remy's features.

"What can Remy say, _homme_," Remy said smartly, "De _femmes _love me." Logan laughed out right at Remy's response.

"Personally I'm leaning more towards disgusted," a coarse voice said from the stairwell leading up from some lower level. The mutants turned to see a tall dark haired man smiling broadly at the new arrivals.

"Now why would ya say dat, _monsieur_?" Remy asked looking at the man. He laughed heartily.

"Because," he replied with a knowing smile, "she's my mother." The man then extended his hand towards Remy, "I'm Sirius Black, welcome to my home and the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." Remy took his hand and shook it.

"Remy LeBeau, but Gambit be de name for business," he responded with a smile as a thunder of footsteps sounded down the stairs. Everyone looked up to see several red-headed teenagers coming down the stairs along with a brown haired girl and a messy black haired boy. "Dey yours?" Again Sirius laughed.

"The red-heads belong to Arthur and Molly. That's Fred and George (or George and Fred), Ron, and Ginny. The other girl is a friend of theirs, Hermione Granger," Sirius explained before he smiled, "the last one is my godson, Harry Potter."

"_Bonjour_," Remy said with a smile and a carefree wave.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" Fred demanded looking at the young man.

"Yeah," George piped up, "It's plenty dark enough in here already." Remy smiled.

"Dat's because of mah mutation, _hommes_," Remy replied, "Remy wouldn't want ta scare any of de p'tites . . ."

"We're not little," Hermione said rolling her eyes, "Plus we've seen more than most teenagers our ages."

"_Oui,_" Remy mused, "perhaps ya have." He took off his sunglasses revealing closed eyes. Rogue scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Swamp Rat," Rogue said tersely, "enough of the drahmatics. Jus' show 'em yahr eyes." Shrugging he opened his eyes. The teens on the stairs as well as Sirius gasped in shock.

"Red and black? That's not normal," Fred said leaning over the banister attempting to get a closer look.

"An' a talkin' portrait is _homme_?" Remy shot back. Fred exchanged a look with George before looking back at Remy.

"_Touché_," Fred replied tipping an imaginary hat towards Remy. The other teens turned and looked at the other mutants curiously.

"So what can you guys do?" Ron asked promptly getting smacked by Ginny and Hermione. The mutants laughed loudly.

"Most of us can't display our powers without causing a lot of damage or bodily harm to someone else," Scott replied, "I'm Scott Summers, by the way. I'm also known as Cyclops."

"I'm Jean Grey," said another girl with long red hair and bright green eyes.

"Remy LeBeau or Gambit," Remy reintroduced himself with the wave of his hand.

"Rogue," the girl with brown hair and bold white bangs said as she rolled her eyes at Gambit and crossed her arms.

"You may call me Colossus," Piotr said with his thick accent, "it is easier to say than Piotr Rasputin."

"Logan," the savage looking man introduced himself gruffly.

"Cadence," the youngest girl replied in a manner eerily similar to Logan's.

"So," George said slowly, "What can you guys do?" The mutants exchanged looks as Mrs. Weasley suddenly appeared and began scolding her sons.

"Mrs. Weasley," Jean said softly, "it's no trouble at all. I dare say none of you know exactly what our powers are. Since we're going to be working together, it would probably be best to demonstrate them."

"Well," Molly said slowly, "I suppose . . ." The large group that was assembled in the front hall moved into the kitchen where they all took seats and eyed the mutants who stood standing.

Jean went first, extending her hand and causing several various items around the room to start zooming about. Scott (being extremely careful) lowered his glasses slightly and shot a powerful optic beam into the fireplace causing the dried logs to explode. Remy, likewise, charged a card and flicked it into the fireplace causing a second explosion. Cadence and Logan unsheathed their claws, and Piotr transformed into his full metal form. The only person who hadn't showed her powers yet was Rogue.

"Mahne's easier ta explain anyways," she said bitterly with crossed arms, "Whenevah Ah have skin ta skin contact with anotha person Ah absorb their lahfe force, their memories, and their powahs if they're a mutant. Every person Ah have touched leaves this shadow in mah head. Lahke part of the person gets trapped in mah mind." The wizards and witches stared at her in disbelief. Seeing this, she pulled off a leather glove.

"Here, Stripes," Logan said gruffly holding out his exposed hand. Rogue reached out and made contact. She let go after only a couple of seconds, but the instant she did, Logan's eyes rolled to the back of his head, a groan escaped his mouth, and he collapsed on the floor. Rogue pulled her glove back on and looked at the magical folks before a sigh escaped her lips and she put a hand to her temple.

"_Chere_?" Remy said taking a step towards her, "Ya alright?" Rogue nodded.

"They're jus' actin' up again," Rogue replied with her eyes shut, "Do y'all think Ah could have someplace ta lie down for a bit." The mutants were then settled into their various rooms and the magical beings went back to their various tasks, namely cleaning.

"Interesting group," Sirius said to Remus as they worked in the study, "They seem nice enough . . ." Remus smiled.

"Yes," Remus said almost wistfully, "Rahne was apparently really happy when she was with them . . ."

XXXXXXXX

Scott was walking down the hallway in an idle attempt to find the bathroom when he came across the group of magical teenagers looking at a rattling drawer. They seemed to be murmuring, or more accurately arguing, about the contents. It seemed that the discussion was quite heated.

"It's probably a bogart," said the youngest red-head girl, Ginny, Scott recalled.

"No," contradicted Hermione, "Do you hear that buzzing sound? It has to be doxies."

"But we don't have any more of that doxy spray," Harry said.

"Maybe I could help?" Scott offered from the door. He had no clue what a doxy was, but he was bored.

"I don't know if you can," Hermione said, "Doxies can be very dangerous . . ."

"What is a doxy?" Scott asked curiously. The teens explained the small venomous fairy like creature to him and he smiled. "Sounds like target practice to me . . . let me go grab my visor." Watching him go curiously the teens looked at each other.

"Did he just say 'target practice'?" Ron asked curiously. Fred and George exchanged evil smiles.

"This is going to be wicked," they exclaimed together. Scott returned but instead of his red-tinted sunglasses, he had on a black visor with a strip of the same red tinted glass in front. There were what appeared to be two good sized discs at the area just after his temple and right before his ear. He raised his right hand and spun the disc forwards, but didn't remove it.

"It'll be on a lower setting at first letting out only a little bit of energy," Scott explained to them, "How do you want to do this?" After several minutes of discussion between Scott and Hermione, it was decided that they would all stand near the door in case they needed to make an escape and that the others would be back-up for Scott if he needed it. Once they were all in position, Fred said the spell that opened the drawer.

About ten angry doxies flew out of the drawer and Scott immediately began firing. With skill and accuracy that would make any marksman jealous, Scott was rapidly pressing the button on the side of his visor releasing short bursts of crimson energy that collided with the small doxy bodies rendering them unconscious.

"Bloody hell," Ron said in amazement as they examined the limp, slightly smoking bodies of the household pests.

"That was awesome," Harry said gently toeing one of the fallen creatures. Fred and George quickly went around placing immobilizing spells on the ten doxies and they all thanked Scott for his help.

"No problem," he said with a smile, "I needed the practice."

"Do you practice with doxies often?" George asked teasingly. Scott chuckled.

"No," he replied evenly, "normally its razor sharp discs flying at high speeds." With a wave he walked out of the room leaving the other teens to stare after him and wonder if he was being serious or not.

XXXXXXXX

Once again Fenrir found himself in the "killing chamber" as he had dubbed it with the young Lupin. He was smirking wickedly as Rahne looked around the darkened chamber. Sure, she was still under the curse, his influence still beating through her like a second heartbeat, but she had been under his influence for so long now that she seemed to be functioning partially of her own free will.

After all of the deaths she had cause, Fenrir supposed that she was accepting the fact that there would be no rescue or that she was beginning to enjoy it . . .

Fenrir shook from his musings and focused on the task at hand. He had received word from the Dark Lord that he wanted Rahne's spirit completely broken and soon. He apparently had a plan involving the mutant girl and he wanted her to be completely controlled. Fenrir had pondered long and hard for the past week musing about what would utterly break Rahne's spirit.

He had even been daring enough to spy on the other mutants from her school to find the answer . . . luckily he did without being caught . . .

"Now, _my child_," Fenrir said gruffly, "This shall be your final test. You've done a _wonderful_ job thus far with taking lives, but this last one will prove you are ready. _Lumos_." There was a sudden burst of light and Rahne's cold eyes settled on a familiar form that was limp on the ground.

It was Cadence.

Rahne seemed to freeze for a moment as her mind registered who it was. Her mind seemed to be split into three parts. Part of her was astonished that he had actually managed to capture and subdue the sometimes feral, former killing machine. Another part of her was terrified and fearing the command that would surely come. But what scared her most was what that third part of her was feeling . . .

. . . The excitement and anticipation of killing again . . .

The barely conscious sliver of the old Rahne that was still in her mind kept telling herself that those feelings were because of the mind control Fenrir had over her. But after each "test" she found it harder and harder to deny the enjoyment her suppressed feral side felt with each kill. Rahne stood there, tense mentally and physically as she waited for the familiar push from Fenrir that accompanied the command, but it didn't come.

They stood in silence as Cadence stirred awake. The moment her eyelids fluttered open they connected with Rahne's. There was pleading and begging in those soulful but cold brown eyes, eyes that could only belong to Cadence. Rahne could feel Fenrir's amusement as Cadence continued to wake.

"Kill her," Fenrir commanded. Without a word from Rahne or Cadence, the former leapt forward and tackled the latter with an inhuman growl as she shifted forms.

The instant Rahne had made contact with Cadence; she could feel something crumble within her. The logical, compassionate, clear-headed Rahne was buried into the depths of her mind, and something savage and inhuman took over her completely. Something more powerful than Fenrir's commanding presence in her mind.

Fenrir could sense this change in her and immediately removed the spell. To his content, Rahne continued to attack, tear, and shred apart the other girl's body. He knew for sure that her spirit had been completely broken.

Rahne was now only living for the kill.

The girl's attack became more savage and brutal spraying blood all over the place, including onto Fenrir's robes. Fenrir laughed simply as the girl, now a wolf, growled and snarled loudly. Without the spell on her, he called her off and she obeyed. She transformed back into her human form, her eyes cold and blank, yet strangely shining and full of life. She had truly enjoyed what she had just done.

"_My daughter_," Fenrir growled tenderly as Rahne clung to him in a childish, almost innocent manner, "You are no longer Rahne Lupin, you are now Vallerie Greyback. Do you like your new name, Vallerie?"

"Aye, papa," Rahne, the newly christened Vallerie responded to her father. Fenrir smiled as he gently ran a hand through her now loose hair. Fenrir's perked his ears up as he heard the gentle swish of robes and the sound of the chamber door opening and closing.

"Go to your room now, Vallerie," Fenrir commanded, and she obeyed without hesitation. Fenrir turned towards the shadows with an evil smirk. He beckoned the person lurking there to step out. Lord Voldemort emerged from the dark shadows of the room.

"Well?" Voldemort demanded.

"Her spirit has been broken," Fenrir replied with a cruel smile, "The feral side has taken over and locked the human side away, forever perhaps. I wasn't sure if she would succumb to the Werewolf Thrall . . ."

"But I was certain," Voldemort replied cutting the werewolf off, "I could sense the animal within her from the first moment. It just needed the right incentive to take over. I dare say that whatever she had been doing before wasn't of much interest. We can be assured that she won't turn on us now. The Werewolf Thrall is a powerful bond that won't be easily broken, perhaps more powerful than the Imperius Curse." Voldemort moved so he was standing over the mangled carcass of the girl.

"Transfiguration was always my favorite subject," Fenrir mused aloud as he twirled the wand in his fingers, "It's too bad I never got to go to Hogwarts to study it properly. The eyes are always the hardest part to transfigure correctly to capture the same glimmer as the original. It takes a great deal of concentration to make them look human and have them capture any type of emotion." Voldemort smirked as her drew his own wand.

"Yes," he said flicking his wrist causing the mangled body to transform back into the now mangled carcass of a large dog, "It definitely has its uses. Clean this up, and then come to my chambers. I believe I have the perfect use for you new daughter. It will send a message to that mudblood lover Dumbledore and all of his followers. Perhaps it will also push that Potter boy into doing my will all the sooner." Fenrir looked back at Voldemort as he moved to leave the chamber.

"The prophecy?" Fenrir asked curiously, "Do you really think he'll fall for your plan?" Voldemort let out a cold, cruel, high pitched laugh.

"He is young and naïve," Voldemort sneered, "Idealistic, just like that fool Dumbledore. He is also compassionate, a trait that will work against him in the days to come." Voldemort said no more as he swept from the room leaving Fenrir to clean up the bloody mess.

XxX 

**(1)** An answer  
**(2)** Excuse me, miss  
**(3)** What a shame!  
**(4)** little jewel


	14. Only A Child

**A/N:** Okay guys, I have good news, and I have bad news . . . which would you like to hear first? Good news, I thought so . . . next Wednesday through Sunday is my Thanksgiving Break and I get to go home for the first time since coming to college. The Bad News: My computer, with all of the files for Legacy of Lupin is staying here in Pennsylvania.

So next week's update will be on Monday or Sunday night depending on when I get back. Dodges various objects being thrown

I'm terribly sorry, but if I figure out something to update while at home I'll do it . . . but right now it's not looking like I'll be able to update next Saturday.

Jinxeh: I've started work on Chapter 19, but haven't gotten very far. Tee hee, Chapter 15 is next . . .

I'll try to find a way to update next Saturday! Until then read, enjoy, and review (you guys have been slacking off!)

Cheers!

* * *

Chapter 14: Only a Child

"Anyone else notice something weird about that Cadence girl?" asked Harry unsurely as he carefully placed an Exploding Snap card on top of the growing card house as he and the others sat on the floor of his and Ron's room.

"You mean _despite_ the fact that she's completely insane?" asked George loftily, taking his turn after Harry. "Why no, not at all…"

"Oh yes," added Fred with a bit of a grin. "She's just _peachy_…"

"I think she's pretty nice," said Ginny unsurely. "I mean…she talks really weird, but compared to that father of hers, _she_ seems downright normal…"

"I'd hate to see what the mother's like," said Hermione with a sad shake of her head as George withdrew his hand from the card house. She was not actually joining in on the card house game, but was instead leaning back against one of the bed legs with a book opened in her lap; "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5". "This just seems like all of this happened really _quickly_, though," she added unsurely. "Mutants living here . . . Lupin's daughter . . . _all_ of this, it's just so strange . . ."

"Wish there was something we could do to help," said Ron regretfully. "There's not much we'll be able to do after we leave for Hogwarts the day after tomorrow, though…"

"I know, and I feel so badly for Lupin," said Ginny with a concerned expression. Then, upon seeing the suddenly furious expression upon Harry's face, she hastily added, "Not that he _needs_ anyone to feel sorry for him…I just kind of do, is all…"

XXXXXXXXX

When Rogue and Cadence walked into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place the next day at mid-morning, they were greeted by an ongoing chorus courtesy of Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley, who were prancing around the kitchen table happily as though Christmas had come early. For a split second, both mutant females harbored the hope that they were happy because something good about Rahne had been found out, but when they heard their actual words, it was found that it was just not so.

"_He got off! He got off! He got off_!"

"Will you three _stop_ it already?" asked Mrs. Weasley in a snappish kind of voice, though there was a small amount of pride in her voice as she said it. She stood behind a chair that had a rather scrawny teenaged boy with bright green eyes and messy black hair sitting in it, with her hands on his shoulders. Cadence and Rogue exchanged a look with one another, and then a shrug, before sitting down at the table as well.

"_He got off! He got off! He got off!_"

"QUIET!" Mrs. Weasley practically bellowed, making all three of them stop in their verbal tracks and look at her with sheepish grins on their faces.

"Um…somethin' good happen, Ah'm guessing?" asked Rogue unsurely, looking across the table to Mrs. Weasley and the boy she stood before.

"Harry was cleared of all charges today," she said with a smile, ruffling the now embarrassed-looking boy's hair once before walking away towards the stove. "Of course, there was no way they wouldn't have cleared him since Dumbledore showed up for the hearing, but still…"

She gave a small and dismissing wave, not even bothering to voice her opinion on the subject. With a raised eyebrow, Rogue turned and looked to the boy again with a bit of a grin on her face.

"A hearing, huh?" she asked with a small snicker as, next to her, Cadence looked on in amusement. "What'd ya do? Oh, wait a minute…I've seen you around here, haven't I? You're that Harry boy; the one who used that P…Pa…er…the charm thing?" she asked, trying to remember what had been said in the hotel when Tonks had been talking to Remus Lupin through the mirror.

"Yeah, that was him," said Fred with a grin as he came up behind Harry and forcibly pinched one of his cheeks. "Well on his way to mischief-making! We're _so_ proud!" he pretended to sob.

"I know! Fred and I never even got an actual _hearing_ before," said George, also pretending to sob, and sounding a little jealous in the process.

"What did you do to have to go in for one of these 'hearings'?" asked Cadence grimly, focusing her intense stare on Harry, who almost gulped because of it.

"Er…I used some magic, and the Ministry doesn't like that much…" he said as he smacked George's hand away as the redhead tried to pinch his cheek as his brother had done. "Get your hands away from me, you two…"

"What, you're not allowed to use magic?" asked Rogue in disbelief. "Ain't ya a wizard too?" she asked as she gestured around the room towards the other teenagers currently flouncing around behind Harry's chair, trying to pinch his cheeks and ruffling his already messy hair.

"I'm underage," Harry grunted, pushing Fred away and raising his hand in warning to George as Ginny started laughing. "We're not supposed to use magic outside of school until we're seventeen…_George will you get away from me_?"

"Leave him alone, you two," said Mrs. Weasley severely, shooing the two boys away from Harry's chair while wielding a newly-cleaned frying pan. Apparently this was an effective way to get the twin boys to listen, for the both of them regarded the pan with wide eyes before backing off rather quickly, making Rogue wonder if the pan had been wielded as a weapon before. However, instead of leaving the room, the two of them began chanting again, finally making Mrs. Weasley snap.

"_He got off! He got off! He got off_!"

"SHUT UP!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm just so _proud_ that Ron's a prefect this year," said Molly Weasley with a sigh the next day as she and Sirius hung the banner reading "Congratulations Hermione and Ron; Hogwarts Prefects!" over the wooden table in the cavernous kitchen. "That's everyone in the family!"

"So what're George and I?" asked Fred, affronted as he and his twin walked down into the kitchen. "Next door neighbors?"

Mrs. Weasley seemed to find that ignoring her twin sons would be easier than responding to them, so that was what she did. It was the wiser of two paths to take, really, as she had found out from prior experiences.

"Tell me…does this end-of-summer party _really_ require a banner?" asked Sirius as he stepped down from the chair he had been standing on, and looking to the banner with an expression of blatant distaste.

"It's not _everyday_ that your child becomes a prefect," said Mrs. Weasley adamantly.

"_No_, despite the fact that it's happened to you three times before," muttered George darkly after his mother had turned her back to the two boys. She did not hear his words, but Sirius did, and he gave the redhead a nudge in the ribs as he passed him with a bit of a grin on his face.

"What is going on?" asked a confused voice from the doorway. Sirius turned in interest at hearing the feminine tone to it, then raising an eyebrow as he saw the girl known as Cadence standing in the doorway, looking around the room with a perplexed expression. Her eyes lingered on the banner lastly; her look of distaste was enough to put Sirius' to shame.

"We're having a bit of a party tonight," said Mrs. Weasley loftily, passing by Cadence with a vast array of tin bowls in her hands. Cadence frowned, walking fully into the room and stopping by the edge of the table.

"A…party?" she asked with a frown. "Oh…that is when people who know one another come together to celebrate something they consider to be of importance, is it not?" she asked in a rather bored tone, making the other four in the room stare at her in uncertainty.

"Er…yes…" said Sirius carefully, exchanging an unsure glance with the twins. "What, you've never been to one before?" he asked, half-joking; which only made it all-the-more of a shock when she shook her head, her appearance blank.

"No…but I have heard of them," she said with a slight nod. "They sound nice."

"You've never been to a party?" asked Mrs. Weasley in sudden interest after she had put the bowls into one of the cupboards and shut the door, then turning to face the young girl. "Haven't you had even a birthday before?"

"I was not _exactly_ born, so no," said Cadence with a shrug, a little confused about the fact that everyone was now looking at her as though seeing a particularly gruesome sort of ghost floating in front of the table.

"What do you mean you weren't born?" asked Sirius with a frown as he crossed his arms and looked her up and down. "I don't get it…is that some sort of new…muggle…thing?"

"What is a muggle?" asked Cadence in genuine interest. She had found herself eager to learn about anything from the supposed "magical" world that she and some of the other X-Men were slowly becoming a part of. A whole other world had just opened up to her, and she wanted to learn all about it. Not for her own personal enjoyment, but for future reference. She wouldn't have wanted to be caught in a dangerous situation without the knowledge of what was going on, after all…

"Non-magical folk," said Sirius easily. "Back to the former question here…weren't you born?"

"In a manner of speaking…but truthfully, no, I was created," said Cadence with another shrug. The four of them blinked and all exchanged looks with one another again, something of which Cadence found to be very amusing to witness.

"By your…mother and father?" asked Fred unsurely. Cadence frowned.

"No, by Hydra…" she said as though stating the obvious. Before she could add on to that, however, she was cut off as Logan came through the door behind her and quickly put a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough, Girl," he gruffly, giving her the look as she titled her head back to look at him. "Go unpack your things in your room."

"But I was just talking-" Cadence tried to protest as he turned her around and steered her towards the door.

"Do you remember what I told you about listening to me earlier?" he asked darkly as he made it to the door. Cadence did not reply to him verbally; she seemed to think that a glare directed towards him from over her shoulder would suffice in that instance, and so she left the room with only a slight push from him, stalking up the stairs sulkily.

"Kids," Logan muttered as he turned around, then noticing that the wizards, and witch, in the room were all looking at him strangely. "Look…I don't know what she said to you before I got here, but since I heard the name "Hydra" there near the end…I'm sorry if you were disturbed by anything she said," he said with a slight sigh. "She's a bit much, I know…"

"Is she your daughter?" asked Sirius in interest as he took a seat at the table across from Fred and George, who had sat down when Cadence had left the room.

"Something like that," said Logan tiredly, decided to give him the same answer that he had given to Lupin when he had asked. It really was none of the wizard's business about his association with Cadence, after all…

"That's a rather confusing answer," commented Sirius as Logan walked the long way around the table and took a chair at the far end. "Is there something about that girl that's…I don't know…some sort of big secret with you X-Men?"

"If there is, do you think it's any of your business?" asked Logan, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I'm curious," responded Sirius with a shrug. "That, and that girl also happens to frighten the life out of me."

"You and me both, sometimes," said Logan with a small chuckle. "Just trust me when I say she's not like the other kids from the Institute. Don't get on her bad side. That's all the advice I can give you. Now…what's going on here?" he asked, looking around at the banner in amusement.

"The children leave for school tomorrow," said Mrs. Weasley with a sigh, then adding, on a much happier note, "Ron and Hermione are Hogwarts prefects, so this is a little celebration for them before they go," she said with a smile, which then faded. "Ah…_you_ know what a party is, don't you?" she asked, wondering if it were some sort of muggle thing…

"The Girl ask what one was?" asked Logan, fighting against the chuckle at the rather disturbed look on the redhead's face. "Don't surprise me. She's never been to one before."

"She's confusing," said Fred with a nod.

"Horrifying is more like it," agreed George. "No offense meant, of course," he added hastily, looking over his shoulder to Logan. He wasn't sure why, but the mutant known as Logan didn't strike him as really being a _pleasant_ man at times…

XXXXXXXXX

"I don't think that I like parties very much," said Cadence in distaste, looking around the now rather crowded kitchen at all of the people that were inside of it. "There are too many people here, and they will not stop looking around at me…"

"You could have stayed up in your room if that was what you preferred," said Logan evenly, leaning against the wall with a handful of crisps. "No one's forcing you to stay."

"In that case, perhaps I will go to the room assigned to me," said Cadence with a sigh. She just couldn't find herself comfortable in such an atmosphere; although there was more ease in the air than any she had seen thus far, she could still sense the unease floating around the room from the situation that the Order members were all in. Remus Lupin was not even present. "Yes…I think that that shall work to my advantage," she said thoughtfully.

"Go for it," said Logan, who was watching Rogue, Bill, and Remy talk animatedly in one of the corners. "But don't try runnin' off or anything; I'm going to check in and make sure you're there later!" he growled as she ran off and out of the room.

Finally out of that room filled with so many people, Cadence allowed herself to sigh in relief now that she was alone. Being around so many people…it made it so difficult to think clearly sometimes! Besides that fact, Cadence just couldn't find herself even trying to have a good time when Rahne was still missing. She had always imagined that she would go to her first party with Rahne . . .

With a sigh she climbed up the stairway and found herself on the second floor of the strange house that she was staying in. She meant to go left, towards where the most of the bedrooms where, but then she stopped, a grim frown pasted on her face as she looked towards the right instead. Her ears were picking up a strange sound…

Her feet were padding lightly on the unfurnished wooden flooring; one hand was trailing lightly along the doors and walls as she made her way towards the door on the end that was ajar. From there she was sure that the sound was coming from.

"Hello?" she called warily as she opened the door all of the way and stepped inside to the unlit room. The sounds, which she now realized as that of someone crying, were louder, and now she could see who it was making the sounds. "Mrs. Weasley?" she asked carefully, stepping forwards towards the woman slumped in the corner, her wand out and pointing to something lying on the ground. When Cadence saw what it was, her eyes instantly went wide and she stepped back a pace.

"Ronald Weasley!" she said in shock, looking down to the dead boy lying before her. He looked dead to her eyes…but somehow, she didn't think that he was dead. The smell of death was not to be sensed in the room they were in, after all…

But then, just like that, as Mrs. Weasley continued to sob, the dead Ronald Weasley changed right before Cadence's very eyes. In a moment the body had turned into nothing but swirls of darkness, rising from the floorboards like a reversed funnel cloud before it began taking the shape of another person. It had done so in a manner of seconds, and no longer was it that the red-haired boy was lying on the ground.

Her breath coming in short gasps now, Cadence almost stumbled backwards in her haste to get away from the man advancing on her slowly; his white lab coat long and past his knees, his shoes polished and shiny, his dark pants pressed…his goggles, which he wore over his lower surgery mask, were shining gleefully along with his short brown hair. In his hands he held what seemed to be a long sort of injection needle; though the needle itself was long and thick. Thick enough to be able to push forwards liquid metal…

Cadence screamed right about them. It was not a normal scream that would be heard from any teenaged girl. No, this was a scream of pure horror; almost feral in nature and filled with such terror and horror as most would have never though possible to hear coming from one so small. Mrs. Weasley gave a start from her corner and looked up with teary eyes to see the strange-looking man advancing on the small girl. She sobbed again and raised her wand in order to subdue the man, but the girl had other plans.

_Snikt_

X-23 snarled and then raised a hand, two claws to be seen coming from her knuckles, her eyes glazed over and filled with rage at the man advancing on her slowly. She screamed again, this scream even more feral than the one before it, before she lunged at him. Seeing nothing but red, she had taken no notice of any of her surroundings except the one right in front of her, so she had not even noticed Logan coming up behind her.

"_CADENCE_!" he roared, grabbing her from behind almost as soon as her feet had left the ground, and struggling to hold onto her. She wasn't even listening to him; she just kept screaming and clawing as she tried to reach the man in front of her, who had stopped in his tracks. She wasn't even caring about where her claws went; she was just trying to escape by now. They cut into her own flesh and marked her face and arms, into Logan's, bit into his wrists and cut through his flesh to the adamantium-encased bone. Despite this intense pain, he refused to let go. When Cadence…no, when _X-23_ was in that sort of state, it was not very wise to let her go for fear that she would hurt others.

Moody, Sirius, and Lupin (who had heard the commotion from his own room) had all been right behind Logan outside of the door, backed away as Logan backed out of the room with the screaming girl in his arms and then, as Logan jogged down the hallway with her, they quickly went inside of the room, their wands drawn, and speaking in unison.

"_Riddikulus_!"

XXXXXXXXX

Later that night found Logan sitting in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place long after the children had been sent off to their beds with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, and Mrs. Weasley, who was still near tears although she was trying not to show it. The other X-Men were asleep as well besides Logan, which was just as well. She sat at the table with the others, a cup of tea in her shaking hands, which she had yet to take a sip of.

"I'm being stupid, I know," she said in a shaky voice, looking down at the tea and nothing else. "It's just…I'm so afraid something will h-happen…half of the f-family's in the Order, you know…"

"It'll be all right, Molly," said Sirius unsurely. "You weren't in the Order last time…we're more protected now, we know more about what's going on. It won't be like last time, really it won't be…"

"He's right," said Remus in a quiet sort of agreement. "No matter how horrible things seem, they always get better…" he said, though even he seemed like he didn't even believe his own words. Molly looked up to him with shining eyes, looking like she was about to burst into tears again at any moment.

"Oh R-Remus…and here I am making a fuss over a s-stupid boggart, and y-you have worse problems than something like th-that…" she began to shake again, causing Lupin to look rather uncomfortable.

"It's all right, Molly," he said quietly, reaching across the table and putting a hand on one of hers comfortingly. "You have a right to be concerned about your family, just as anyone else would be. We're only human, after all."

"I know…I just f-feel so helpless…" she sobbed quietly. "Y-Your daughter is gone and we can't even f-find her…You-Know-Who is back…oh _goodness_…" she exclaimed, pulling her hand away and covering her face with them.

"It's going to be all right," said Moody with a slight growl. "We survived the last time; we'll do it this time too. Sirius is right; we're more prepared than we were the last time the Order was started."

"I-I know…" said Mrs. Weasley with a shudder and a sigh, removing her hands from her blotchy face. "Thank goodness Arthur is working late tonight; I wouldn't want him to see this. P-please don't tell him; I don't want h-him to worry…"

Meanwhile, Logan sat throughout this whole conversation, his arms crossed as he leaned back in the rickety wooden chair, with a grim frown on his face. He was waiting for them to ask what he knew they were eventually going to. He wasn't going to lie to them, either. They were allowing for him and the others to stay at their headquarters while they searched for their missing student, so he felt he owed them at least that much. Besides that…if they were going to have to be around Cadence for long intervals at a time, they at least deserved to know why she acted the way she did. It was just … safer … that way.

Finally, after Molly Weasley had finally calmed down, she turned towards Logan with woe-begotten eyes and a frown on her own face to rival even his.

"I-I'm sorry that your daughter had to dragged into that," she said with a sniff and a forced and weak smile. "I have no idea what the b-boggart had turned into…but the way she reacted to it…it was like she was some sort of animal!" she whimpered.

"Yeah, she does that," said Logan with a sigh. "Part of her training; she's conditioned to it."

"Conditioned?" asked Sirius unsurely. "Okay, I have to ask this…what the _hell_ are you teaching the kids at that school of yours?"

"It's got nothin' to do with the school," said Logan tiredly. "It's got to do with her life _before_ the school. With Hydra."

"See, now that's the second time I've heard the name "Hydra" come up where your daughter is concerned," said Sirius with a frown. "Who's Hydra?"

"Hydra's an organization, not a person," said Logan in a low voice, fighting to keep his growl at a minimum. "And to answer your question from earlier today, she's not my daughter. She's my clone."

He paused to let this sink in, but from the confused looks on their faces he had to guess that either they thought him to be completely insane, or they didn't know what exactly a clone was.

"You do know what a clone _is_, don't you?"

"I think I've heard about that sort of thing before," said Lupin with a small frown, his eyebrows narrowed as he thought about it. "It's from muggle technology…a copy, isn't it?"

"Close enough," Logan sighed. "I don't know about the technical terms and such, that's Hank's department, but she's like my copy. They made her by using my DNA; my _blood_ and such, and created her in a science lab. She was raised there by a bunch of heartless scientists," he said, losing the battle against his growl. "You saw my claws. You should know that those ain't natural. Niether are hers."

"So…Hydra gave you both claws?" asked Sirius in confusion. Logan shook his head.

"No…Weapon X gave me mine; and my metal skeleton. Then Hydra, trying to create the Weapon X experiment, which was me, stole information from that and made Cadence in an attempt to recreate me."

"But why?" asked Mrs. Weasley in horror; all of this talk about science labs, and little girls and all of this technology was giving her a headache.

"They wanted weapons," Logan said with a shrug. "So they made one. When they put me through the adamantium bonding experiment, which is how I got my claws and everything, they also erased my memory. I ain't got any idea about who I was before that happened, and that happened years ago; sometime after the 'muggle' World War Two."

"World War Two…that was around the nineteen-forties, I believe…" said Lupin thoughtfully, "You must have been quite young, then…"

"No idea," said Logan nonchalantly, not willing to go into specifics about his questionable age. "Anyways…what I'm tryin' to tell you is that it was different for me. They did that to me, yeah, but I was already grown; my mind was fully developed. I was an adult. When they did it to Cadence, she was twelve."

Moody suddenly swore under his breath, looking murderous, while Sirius and Lupin both took on rather severe looks of their own. Sirius still looked a little confused, but it was obvious he understood what was said, as he was looking a little concerned now.

"Yeah…so I guess you understood that," said Logan resignedly. "It screwed with her mind. She healed from this physically pretty quick; me an' her got the same healing factor, meaning we can heal from pretty much anything. It was her mental state that never really went back to normal. Before then she was put through some pretty harsh training; combat fighting, weaponry, that sort of thing. Afterwards it was worse; they put her to use, made her do things that kids shouldn't have to do. She was an assassin for 'em … musta killed hundreds a' people by the time she wised up and got away…"

"No wonder she acts like that, then," said Molly in shock. "Oh, the poor _dear_! How could anyone do that to a child? To a _person_, even?"

"Because to those busy bees up north, we _ain't_ people. They didn't even give Cadence a real name; they just called her X-23. She was the twenty-third time they tried to create a weapon, and she was the only one to survive," Logan growled. "Mutants aren't exactly well-liked in the world, if you don't already know. It's one of the reasons ol' Xavier started up the school; it's sorta like a haven for mutants.

"We still got our _problems _… s'matter a' fact, there was an incident with Rahne and the others that caused some problems, which is the whole reason we came to London. To get _away_ from it all," muttered Logan sourly.

"What sort of incident?" asked Lupin quickly, concern in his eyes. What on earth could have happened that had led the X-Men to flee to London temporarily? And how had his daughter been involved?

"Some stupid kids at the local mall tried to start somethin' with Cadence," said Logan, rolling his eyes. "Rahne tried to get 'er out, but they ended up havin' to use their powers to get away. Stupid kids chased 'em all the way back to the school and made me tell 'em to go away," he added tiredly. "It wasn't the first time either . . ."

"I didn't know it was that bad for mutants," said Remus in a shocked sort of amazement. "I knew there were certain…feelings…about them, but I didn't know it was like that…"

His voice was breaking by that time, but he quickly made a feeble attempt at disguising it by coughing slightly at the end of his sentence as though his throat had been dry while he spoke. The others pretended not to notice.

It was hard for him now, to learn that perhaps his daughter had not had the fairest life that she could have. Knowing about the prejudices that some people had towards mutants was one thing; knowing that that was something that affected his own daughter directly was something else entirely. And all of what had happened to the Cadence girl…to even _think_ that someone could have done that to a child…

But then again, despite the reputation these people at Hydra now had to him, as a wizard, he knew that there were many of his own magical kind that were not much better. Rahne had been taken from right under the nose of one of the Order members to be used as a pawn against them, and she too was only a child…

XXXXXXXXXX

"Vallerie, come here for a moment," said Fenrir loudly as he walked down the corridor towards the small room the girl was known to stay in the next morning. Now there was not even a need to close and lock the door, even at night, so the door stood open. He was thrilled to find how easy it was to control her now; she did everything that he told her to without questioning his authority.

He knew why this was as well, and yet that reason did not disturb him even in the slightest. Why would it have? He had the girl formerly known as Rahne completely under his control, so he wasn't going to complain about it. Really, the only reason she had tricked herself into believing her new life was because, subconsciously, she didn't want to face the facts. It was just so much easier for her to believe that she was Vallerie Greyback, born into the life she now led, rather than have to live with the knowledge of her own kidnapping, and the murdering of innocent people.

Vallerie came out just as he reached the door, looking up at him in bemusement.

"Yes, poppa?" she asked curiously, her bright eyes glancing to him from behind her lanky and darkened red bangs; her pigtails had come undone, the hair bands having long since fallen out. Her once-bright hair was grimy and as such as darker than usual looking more blood red than cherry red. The grime in it matched the dirt accidentally smeared across her face. It was difficult to keep clean in such a place, after all.

"Vallerie, do you remember what I told you about yesterday?" asked Fenrir with a raised eyebrow, crossing his arms and looking down at her expectantly.

"Yes…something about a mission…" said Vallerie with a frown. "The Dark Lord wants us to do something for him…"

This only caused Fenrir to grin again. She was adjusting rather well to all of this; even to subjecting herself to the Dark Lord's will to do as he wished her to.

"Exactly" he said with a pleased tone. "Follow me," he said as he began to walk down the corridor again, her right at his heels as though she were a lost puppy. "I'll show you our targets…"

XXXXXXXXX

"Now I want you all to be _careful_," said Mrs. Weasley fearfully as she hugged each and every one of her children tightly as they stood on Platform 9 and ¾, before turning to give both Harry and Hermione extra-tight hugs as well. Mad-Eye Moody, Sirius Black (in dog form, of course) Nymphadora Tonks, and several other Order members stood by, watching carefully. Remus Lupin had traveled with them to the platform itself, but then had bid them goodbye as soon as he had made sure they made it safely to the train. No one stopped him when he disapparated.

"We _will_, mum," said Ron despairingly as she hugged him one last time. "C'mon, we're going to miss our train," he added as he finally escaped his mother's embrace and beckoned to the others to follow him onto the train.

The adults watched and waved as the children boarded the train, and did not move from the spots they stood in until the train itself had pulled away and had turned around the corner of tracks, out of sight.

"Back ta' work, then," said Moody with a slight sigh before he disappeared with an earsplitting CRACK! After a moment, the other adults, including Sirius, who had waited until the other parents on the platform were gone as well so he could go back to his human form, had apparated away as well, leaving the platform empty.

Almost empty, anyways.

As soon as Sirius disappeared, from beside an empty trolley cart by the furthest stone wall towards the tracks, there was a slight shimmer in the air. The shimmer lasted for only a moment until it was gone completely. Two people stood where the air had once flickered, one tall and the other slightly shorter, and with a blank expression on her face.

With a grin, Fenrir stepped forward and put his wand away again as his 'daughter' followed at his side.

"A useful spell, that," he said in amusement, his wand pocketed before he turned down to the girl. "Did you see the ones I pointed out to you? The redheads, and the boy with the black hair and the girl with the brown?"

"Yes, poppa," replied Rahne with a hungry look in her glossed-over eyes. "I saw them."

"Good," said Fenrir with a satisfied nod. "Then you'll know what to do when the time comes…"

"When?" asked Vallerie, looking up at him questioningly. He regarded this carefully, trying to weigh when the best time to put his plan into action would have been. It obviously couldn't be too soon, but he didn't want to wait long either…

"Soon," he promised her, putting a hand on one of her shoulders, his long and cracked fingernails accidentally gouging into her skin. "Very soon. We just have to be patient, Vallerie…"


	15. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

**A/N:** Well kids, here is the long awaited Chapter 15. I'm going to be busy catching up on homework tomorrow, so I've decided to update a day early. Yes,I did figure out a way to get the document on my home computer. Gmail is a beautiful thing . . .I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and gorged themselves of insane amounts of turkey. There are a few quick announcements that I would like to make (and hopefully this doesn't violate any of new rules):

_One_, I feel like this chapter is fairly violent and (considering I'm the one that wrote it) I wanted to give you guys a heads up.

_Two_, I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to get quite a few pissed off reviews, so I would just like to say that eventually things are going to get better. So take your flame and make a s'more with it. Don't send it to me.

_Three_, (this is more directed at Jinxeh, but not directly) I've been lazy and haven't worked much on Chapter 19 but it is started . . . I'll get around to it soon . . .

I really hope doesn't go psycho and say no Author Notes period because that would suck giant, hairy, chocolate-covered, monkey balls . . . Anywho . . .

Cheers!  
Alexis

* * *

Chapter 15: Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?

The members of the Order of the Phoenix, after returning from the train platform, were gathered in the kitchen with the members of the X-men, minus Cadence who was taking a quick nap. They were attempting to discuss some type of action. The X-men were trying to talk the members of the Order to get another person undercover to go inside the Death Eaters, but the Order kept shooting them down.

"It's too dangerous," Arthur Weasley kept saying, "Plus we already have a person undercover in their ranks." Logan snorted.

"And a lot of good this Snape has been," Logan replied remembering how they had filled the X-men in on their double agent, "We should have a second person go in. That's all I want."

"I could go in," Jean offered, "If this Voldemort character has Legilimency like you say, I should be able to misguide him with my telepathy." Rogue rolled her eyes at Jean's willingness. It disgusted her sometimes; strike that, _all_ the time.

"They'd see through you the instant you were required to do any type of spell or potions work," Moody countered, "You maybe able to misguide him, but he'll know something is up. He'll figure you out long before you could locate Rahne." Jean sank back defeated. Piotr suddenly sat up and looked intensely at Rogue.

"Rogue," he said slowly, "vhen you touch somevone you absorb deir memories und abilities, _ja_?" Rogue elegantly arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Petey," Rogue replied, "What are yah gettin' at?" Piotr seemed to be searching for the correct words.

"I am vonderink if dis ability extends to the absorption of magics," Piotr said evenly as he looked at Rogue. Rogue looked taken aback.

"Ah-ah-ah don't know," Rogue stuttered as she sat up, "Ah've never absorbed a wizard before, just humans and mutants . . ." The magical folks exchanged looks.

"Well there's only one way to find out," Tonks said extending her hand out across the table to Rogue. Rogue carefully pulled off a glove and extended her hand towards Tonks'.

"Think of happy memories," Rogue told the pink haired witch, "They're easier ta control." Tonks nodded silently and closed her eyes. Rogue's hand closed the space that was left between them and lightly brushed against Tonks' hand. Tonks shuttered and her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fell backwards off the bench and was caught by Sirius.

Rogue's mind was bombarded with images and emotions attached to memories of attending Hogwarts, discovering metamorphmagus abilities, Auror training, and . . . feelings for . . . Rahne's dad? Rogue shook her head as she heard Tonks' psyche inside her mind murmured amazed at the inside of Rogue's mind.

"Rogue?" Remy said softly tapping her on the shoulder. Rogue shook her head and cleared the images that were crowding her mind.

"Do you need help containing the images?" Jean asked leaning forwards with her hands slightly raised.

"Nah," Rogue said evenly, "Ah'm fahne." She waved her hand shooing people away from her as she opened her eyes. She looked at the wizards on the opposite side of the table. "Now what?" Remus knelt down and picked up Tonks' dropped wand.

"Do a spell," he said gingerly handing her the wand, "or attempt to at any rate." Rogue easily grasped the wand in her right hand as she felt a surge of memories rush to the forefront of her mind. An array of spells was there before her, all she had to do was pick one and say it . . .

"_Rictusempra_," Rogue shouted as she directed the wand at Logan. She knew what the spell would do and couldn't wait to see its effects on the gruff man. For a moment nothing happened, making Rogue and the others think that she couldn't absorb the ability to do magic.

Then the corners of Logan's mouth started to turn up at the ends . . .

Without warning, Logan was suddenly rolling around on the floor laughing like there was no tomorrow. The others in the room looked between the stunned looking Rogue and the hysterical Logan. Sirius let out a low whistle as he shifted the weight of Tonks in his arms.

"Well, I'll be," he murmured looking at Logan who was currently holding his sides from laughing so hard, "She can absorb magic." Without words Remus flicked his wand and Logan stopped laughing immediately. He looked at the others in confusion.

"What the hell was that?" he asked gruffly as he stood up from the floor.

"Tickling charm," Remus replied, "It causes the victim to laugh uncontrollably." Rogue carefully set the wand down on the table top. Cadence then walked wearily into the room.

"Daddy?" she asked in a very small childlike voice that unnerved the mutants and wizards alike, "Why were you laughing?" Logan instantly sensed something was wrong with Cadence from the moment she used the word 'daddy.' He walked over to her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Just testing out a theory, darlin'," Logan replied examining her eyes, "Do you feel alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, daddy," she said swaying on her feet, "but one of those stupid black bugs bit me . . ."

"What black bugs?" Logan, Moody, Remus, Molly, and Arthur asked at the same time as the later four moved closer towards the teetering girl and her 'father'.

"You know," she said absently motioning with her hand, "Those little furry ones that look like little people . . ." Cadence's pupils suddenly grew very big and completely engulfed her irises and she collapsed forward into her father's arms.

"Oh dear," Molly said running towards one of the cabinets and pulled out a phial of reddish-orange liquid, "Doxy bite." With Logan's help, she managed to empty the contents of the phial into Cadence's mouth and got her to swallow. Her eyes returned to a more normal state and she looked around the room taking quick sniffs of the air.

"I smell Rahne . . ." She murmured softly as her body began to fall limp in her father's arms, "They . . . they all smell like Rahne a little bit. It's not real strong, but it's there . . ." Cadence then fell unconscious as the potion and her natural healing abilities worked to dispel the Doxy toxins from her system. Logan looked at the members of the Order with a raised eyebrow. He gently put Cadence on the floor and stood. He personally hadn't smelled Rahne, but Cadence had shared a room with her for a few months and was more sensitive to her scent.

"Everyone who went to the platform stand together," Logan growled and the adult wizards and witches complied. Logan took a few quick sniffs, and his eyes narrowed. Cadence was right; they had traces of Rahne's scent on them, but faint, probably carried by the wind. "Red, scan King's Cross Station for Rahne's mental signature."

Jean nodded wordlessly and closed her eyes and put her hands to her temples. The others watched as the teen completely stopped moving and breathed shallowly. She body steadily grew tenser as the focused her scan. She inhaled suddenly and surprised. Her eyes didn't open, but she spoke to the others.

"Go," she commanded, "she's there. I'll try and hold her. Go now! Rahne listen to me, stop fighting me!"

XXXXXXXX

The instant the Lupin girl fell to the ground clutching the sides of her head, Fenrir knew that one of the other mutants that had come with her to England had found her. He muttered a spell and instantly the platform was protected by an anti-apparation enchantment. He turned to the barrier brick wall and hexed it so it would only allow people bearing the Dark Mark to enter. Once he was sure that the platform was secure from unwanted intruders he approached the kneeling Vallerie.

"I'm not Rahne! Now get out of me head, ye bitch," she growled angrily with closed eyes as she held her head. Fenrir smiled. She was fighting the person with all she had, showing him that he had complete control of the girl.

"You tell her, my child," Fenrir encouraged.

XXXXXXXX

Several of the Order members attempted to apparate directly to the platform but found that they couldn't. There was general mayhem in the kitchen as they were quickly discussing what to do and Tonks woke up from her unconscious state. Moody took charge and growled orders.

"Remus, Arthur, Tonks, and Kingsley come with me," he growled, "We'll apparate with Logan, Rogue, Remy, and Scott and go to the Station. Sirius, Molly, and Big Guy," he was referring to Piotr, "keep and eye on Lily . . . I mean . . . Jean and Cadence." The mutants grabbed hold of a wizard or witch and in a crack they had all vanished. When they had disappeared, Sirius turned to look at Jean and then back to Piotr.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" He asked feeling helpless once more. Piotr shook his head.

"Ve jus' haf to make sure zhat she does not go overboard vith her povers," Piotr replied standing up and going over to where Cadence was laying and propping her up.

"O-o-overboard?" Molly asked, "What does that mean?" Piotr sighed as he looked at the stuggling, mumbling Jean.

"Jean's povers haf been evolvink further and sometimes she had trouble reignink zhem in," Piotr explained and he cradled Cadence as he would his own little sister, "I haf a question, vhy did Mad-Eye call her Lily?" Sirius looked back at the red-haired teenager; he couldn't deny the eerie resemblance between his deceased friend's wife and the teenaged telepath.

"She looks like someone who was part of the Order during the first war," Sirius said darkly sitting back down as he watched the tense teen, "someone we were all close to who died saving her only son from Voldemort." Piotr nodded darkly and the room lapsed into silence save for the incoherent mutterings of Jean every now and then.

XXXXXXXX

"Rahne, listen to me," Jean attempted to plead with the psyche of the younger mutant, "You are not Vallerie Greyback! You are Rahne Sinclair! You **_are_** Rahne Lupin!" Rahne laughed darkly.

When Jean had entered Rahne's mind, she had been startled with what she had found. She had been inside Rahne's head before, and had grown used to seeing the girl clean, tamed, and playful. The psyche of Rahne that stood before her now was the complete opposite. The psyche is a refection of the physical form of a person, and Jean was terrified of what her young friend's psyche was reflecting. Rahne's hair was loose, disarrayed, and matted with dirt, grime, and what appeared to be blood. She was covered from head to foot in the same dirt, grime, and blood and her clothes were ripped, torn and in a general state of disarray. The eyes were what terrified Jean the most.

Rahne's eyes had always seemed to hold a bright glimmer in them. It was a glimmer of hope, playfulness, and an endearing innocence that caused people to instantly fall in love with the young Scottish girl. That glimmer was now gone. Rahne's, or as she was calling herself, Vallerie's, eyes were hallow. They held no emotion and there was something dark stirring behind them that terrified the older teen. There was something feral and violent in those eyes now . . .

"I'm not Rahne Sinclair, nor am I Rahne Lupin," Rahne growled as she stalked towards the red-head's psyche, "Me name is Vallerie Greyback." Rahne's psyche growled and leapt towards Jean as she transformed into her were form.

XXXXXXXX

The mutants and wizards appeared in an alley by King's Cross Station. Without any restraint, they ran towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Moody was the first one to attempt to pass through the barrier, but almost as soon as he had vanished he was thrown back out again.

"Damn," Moody replied clutching his left forearm, "someone's hexed it. I've seen this hex before during the first war. Only people with the Dark Mark can get in. Lupin what is it?" Everyone turned to look at the werewolf father. He was staring intently at the brick wall, as if wordlessly attempting to will the spell away. A gruesome sneer spread across the benign man's face.

"It's him," he growled, "Fenrir, I can sense him . . ."

XXXXXXXX

Fenrir suddenly tensed and looked toward the hexed barrier. He allowed himself a small smile. Being a werewolf gave him the ability to sense other werewolves when they were close, and his senses were going off the charts. He sauntered up to the barrier with his head tilted to one side and a smile across his face.

"Well, well," he growled as he came to a stop right in front of the barrier, "Lupin, nice to see you again. I bet it's really knotting your knickers to know that your daughter is just on the other side of the barrier from you and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." Fenrir reveled in the sensation of feeling Remus's ire surge.

"She's a good girl," Fenrir gloated, knowing that Remus couldn't hear his actual words but could feel the emotion behind them, "Very obedient, loyal, and one hell of a killer." The older werewolf stepped away from the barrier and walked back towards where his 'daughter' was kneeling on the ground.

"It's been fun, but we really must be going . . ."

XXXXXXXX

"Rahne, I don't want to fight you," Jean shouted as she dodged another one of Rahne's animalistic advances. She had been attempting to reason with the younger girl and find some part of her psyche that was still the Rahne that she had known. Rahne growled again.

"Me name's not Rahne," the psyche growled again as it stood from a crouching position, "It's Vallerie!" Rahne, or Vallerie, was just about to leap again when Jean felt another tug as someone else entered Rahne's mind. Praying to all things good and mighty, she hoped it was the professor. Her hopes were dashed, however, when she saw the psyche of a mangy looking older man. Doing a quick probe of him and the strange connection he had to Rahne caused her to gasp.

"You're Fenrir Greyback," Jean gasped as she regained her composure, "What have you done to Rahne!" The man's psyche laughed darkly.

"Broken her," he replied with a growl, "She's not Rahne anymore, she is Vallerie Greyback, my daughter, possessed by a Werewolf's Thrall." Jean tensed.

"What is a Werewolf's Thrall?" she demanded to know. Fenrir's psyche smirked crudely.

"Why don't you ask Remus?" he sneered, "I'm sure you muties and those pricks called the Order of the Phoenix have joined forces by now. He knows everything about a Werewolf's Thrall, and I'm sure he'd be happy to explain it to you . . ." Jean was starting to loose her temper with this horrid man, and Fenrir smiled at her evident anger. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't want to fight Rahne," she said closing her eyes as a strange orange aura began to glow around her, "but you . . . I'll fight _you_ willingly . . ." Her psyche's eyes snapped open and the green orbs were gone. They were replaced with a fiery, impassioned orange.

XXXXXXXX

"What in the name of Merlin's beard . . ." Sirius gaped as the mutant known as Jean Grey was surrounded by a flame like aura. Molly Weasley was cautiously stepping towards the teenager.

"What is she doing?" she asked as Piotr carefully transferred the slowly waking Cadence into Sirius's arms.

"She iz tappink into her extended abilities," Piotr said as he shifted into his metal form, "Get out of zhe room. She iz likely to lose control . . ." Even as he spoke, several objects began to float and dart around the room. Sirius, carrying the heavy Cadence darted out of the room on Molly's heels just as a large knife was flung in their direction and buried itself in the door that was snapped shut behind them.

XXXXXXXX

Jean was flinging mental bolts at the psyche of Fenrir Greyback that was in Rahne's head. She figured if she could rid Rahne of his influence, she would regain her memory. To her dismay, he had no difficulty in dodging each attack, even with her tapping into her more volatile powers. Jean flung another psychic bolt at him and he vanished out of its path. Jean searched for him in Rahne's mind, but was grabbed from behind roughly by her query.

"This has been fun," Fenrir growled in her ear as Rahne watched on in enjoyment and idolization, "but Vallerie and I must be going. I'm sure that cripple, Mad-Eye, knows the counter curse for the hex on the barrier. It would not do well for them to take my daughter now, especially when she is about to prove her worth to the Dark Lord. Goodbye."

Jean groaned as a strong force pushed her out of Rahne's mind and sent her astral projection spinning through the air. She watched on in horror as Rahne stood and allowed Fenrir to help her up and sturdy her wavering posture and hug the disgusting man.

"Thank ye, papa," she said with a disgusting amount of affection in her voice. Jean's astral projection put a hand over her mouth in shock and disgust.

"Rahne, NO!" Jean screamed causing her aura to flare up once again as the two vanished with a CRACK.

XXXXXXXX

"Jean's tapping into the Phoenix Force," Scott said worriedly as he gripped his head, "I can feel it through our telepathic connection," his voice then became distant and monotone, "We have to get back, there's nothing we can do for Rahne. He's taken her and gone." The mutants exchanged sad looks, while the wizards looked sad and confused.

"What is the Phoenix Force?" Tonks asked curiously. Logan groaned.

"That's another long story," Logan replied, "Let's just get back and see what Red has to say."

When they apparated back to Grimmauld Place from an alley beside the train station, they found Cadence was awake but still being supported by Sirius; the kitchen looked as though a tornado had blown through it, Molly was brewing a pot of tea, and Piotr was comforting a sobbing Jean.

"Jean," Scott said worriedly and raced forward to comfort and embrace his girlfriend, "What's wrong?"

"My God, Scott," Jean sobbed into his shoulder, "What he's done to her . . . it's . . . it's horrible." She was overcome with a fresh wave of sobs but eventually continued, "She's not the same Rahne anymore. She didn't recognize me, Scott, and she didn't even know her own name . . ."

"What do you mean?" Logan growled as he paced the room like a caged animal. He had steadily been getting angrier and angrier with this Greyback fellow as Jean had been describing.

"She kept calling herself Vallerie, Vallerie Greyback," Jean said shaking her head, "She thinks she's Fenrir's daughter." **BANG**!

Everyone in the room jumped at the sudden sound. Logan and Sirius were the first to locate the source. Remus had also been pacing the length of the room and this information had greatly upset him. He punched the hard wall putting a large dent in it and sufficiently breaking several of the fingers on his right hand. He was swearing softly in anger and pain. Sirius's eyebrows shot up to his hair line, Remus had _never_ displayed his anger like that . . .

"What else did you find out," the angered father demanded without looking at anyone else in the room as he cradled his broken hand. Jean gaped for a moment before answering.

"H-h-he said that she was under a Werewolf's Thrall . . ." Jean trailed off as Remus said such a string of curses that it made Mad-Eye, Sirius, _and_ Logan blush.

"What's a werewolf thrall?" Scott asked softly, voicing the question that all of the mutants were thinking.

"Well, um," Tonk began but Remus cut her off.

"No, I'll explain," Remus sighed as he gritted his teeth, "A Werewolf Thrall is a certain ability that all werewolves possess, including myself. It's a type of enchantment that ensnares the victim and places them completely under control of the werewolf."

"That doesn't sound _too_ bad, _homme_," Remy said slowly. Remus just shook his head.

"But it is," Remus said sadly, "inside each person, there is a feral monster lurking within the depths of the soul, looking for an opportunity to get out. In werewolves this beast is more prominent and it is a daily struggle for people afflicted with lycanthropy to keep it under control; I know. The thrall is the inner wolf of a werewolf mentally controlling the feral side of a person or another werewolf. With Rahne's mutation I can only assume that she has a more prominent animal side than most . . ."

"But how does a werewolf gain control of another?" Logan demanded.

"By releasing and courting to the animal within the person and locking away the logical human side," Remus said hanging his head, "by any means possible. Once forged, the bond is near impenetrable."

"What does that mean?" Jean asked softly. Remus almost smiled at the innocence of the question.

"It means . . ." Remus struggled with the words and fought to keep the sob down, "it means that . . . Greyback has f-forced Rahne t . . . t-to kill."

XXXXXXXX

After the incident at King's Cross, Voldemort threatened Fenrir to be more cautious with the Lupin child. It unnerved him that one of these mutants had the ability to enter into the girl's head so easily and had attempted to break the connection between her and Fenrir. And so Fenrir followed orders for once. He and Rahne did lay low until the Dark Lord called upon their services.

Luckily they only had to wait two days . . .

Lord Voldemort paced through the underground labyrinth looking for the dwelling quarters of Fenrir and the Lupin girl. He smiled coldly as he saw Fenrir training the girl's skills with a dummy that he was levitating with his wand. The girl was constantly changing from her human form, into her full wolf form, back into her were form. He was impressed with the young girl's skills in attack and defense. Voldemort cleared his throat loudly catching their attention.

"I want the attack done next week," The Dark Lord commanded, "Attack one of the Potter boy's friends. I don't care which . . ."

"Please da' can it be the lass," Rahne pleaded Fenrir cutting off the dark wizard, "She looks like she'd be fun ta chase around." Fenrir shot a look at Riddle. The disfigured wizard smiled and nodded and Fenrir turned back to her.

"Yes, Vallerie," he repled with a cold smile, "you can attack the girl." Rahne bounced around excitedly and Fenrir smiled at her before turning back to Voldemort, "When?"

"She is a prefect, I believe, if Snape informed me correctly," Voldemort smiled coldly, "I don't suppose it would be too hard for you to determine when the fifth-year Gryffindor Prefects makes their rounds . . ." With a careless wave over his shoulder he left the room.

"When da'?" She asked with a feral smile, Fenrir returned the gesture.

"We'll leave tomorrow and observe the school," Fenrir explained, "then, my dear, you can strike."

XXXXXXXX

Harry sighed as he collapsed down onto his four poster bed. So far, his first week back at Hogwarts had, in a phrase, been bloody horrible. First, Dumbledore seemed to be avoiding him and he couldn't understand why. Secondly, the lessons were far more difficult than they had been the past four years. Thirdly, Draco was a Prefect and abusing his power.

Last, but not least, was the pathetic excuse for a Defense teacher (and human being): Dolores Umbridge . . .

Harry had a feeling that Umbridge took this job knowing that she was going to make his life a living hell. As he stared at the ceiling of the dorm room he cradled his left hand which was bloody from the punishment he had received from Umbridge. Those damn quills and sentences carved into the back of his hand; it was painful, but by the end of the first week of detentions, Harry had learned to ignore the pain his punishment inflicted on him.

Sighing he turned and looked at Ron's empty bed. His best friend had been just as busy, if not busier than Harry, with his Prefect duties and classes. Ron, a Prefect, Harry still had trouble believing it, but it was reality. It was those duties that caused his friend to be missing at the current time. Normally, Ron, Hermione, and himself would be pouring over books and parchment, but the other two were now patrolling the halls.

Harry suddenly felt very sleepy and struggled to keep his eyes open. They felt like they had lead weights attached to them as they fluttered and futilely attempted to stay open. Slowly but surely they slipped shut and Harry's consciousness slipped away from him and he began to dream . . .

_He was wandering aimlessly around a deserted Hogwarts hallway. No, not aimlessly. He was searching for something . . . or someone . . . The edges of his vision were blurry and distorted. He felt like he was walking though water and yet everything seemed more pronounced . . ._

_Then he felt his body tense as he heard a crashing sound from another hallway. He felt his arms stretch forward and knock over a suit of armor off to his front left. It made a resounding crash that would be sure to catch anyone's attention in the general vicinity. If that was the person's goal, it was succeeded._

"_Ron you go that way, and I'll go this way," the familiar voice of Hermione called out._

"_Right," Ron replied and Harry heard the sound of a pair of footsteps vanish into nothing while another pair seemed to get loud and closer._

"_Who's there?" Hermione called. Harry felt a low growl surface from his throat as Hermione moved into his line of sight. Hermione let out a scream at Harry felt himself leap towards her . . ._

Harry woke with a jolt and instantly jumped towards his trunk. He haphazardly threw his belongings around the room as he searched for one in particular. He let out a cry as he pulled an old piece of parchment out from the bottom of his trunk.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry said hurriedly as he tapped the parchment with his wand. As the ink began to spread across the paper he searched eagerly for the two dots that symbolized his friends. He found them walking side by side along the third floor corridor. He looked around them and saw no signs of anyone tracking them as they moved up the steps to the fourth floor. He began looking around for any sign of anyone unfamiliar who might want to cause them harm.

His eyes scanned the map, but found no signs of a threat in the halls. He glossed over the visible dots, not seeing too much out of the ordinary. There was Filch, Mrs. Norris, Fred and George, Rahne, Peeves, Nearly Headless Nick . . . Harry's eyes stopped and drifted back over the page. His jaw slowly dropped.

There apparent on the map, as clear as day, was a dot labeled _Rahne Lupin_. Jumping up from his position on the floor, Harry ran out of the dormitory and down the stairs. Ignoring the looks he got from his fellow Gryffindors he bolted out of the portrait hole.

XXXXXXXX

"Why do we have to patrol?" Ron complained as he shuffled his feet, "There's nobody out. They're all too afraid of that crazy Umbridge lady . . ."

"Ron," Hermione sighed as she looked at her watch, "look we just have five more minutes. Can you please not complain about Umbridge for that long?" Ron shut his mouth and they walked in silence for a few moments.

"I really can't stand her . . ." Ron muttered under his breath and Hermione let out a frustrated growl. She turned ready to tell him off when a crash resounded from a corridor to the left. Both friends drew their wands and were ready to go investigate when there was another crash down a hallway to the right. Hermione sighed.

"Look," she said pointing to the left, "you go check that crash out, and I'll check this one out. If there are students, escort them back to their dorms and head back to the common room. I'll meet you there." Ron nodded and the two split up.

Ron quickly made his way down the hall with the light emanating from the tip of his wand to guide him. He stopped in front of a fallen suit of armor and an open window with a strong breeze blowing in from it. Groaning he walked over to the window and snapped it shut and slid the lock into place. He then charmed the suit into an upright position. Ron started towards where Hermione had gone, but then remembered her words about meeting back at the common room. Tired, he climbed up the nearest staircase and started to head back to the Gryffindor tower.

XXXXXXXX

Hermione was walking along the corridor searching for the source of the crash. Her wand light lit the way for her; she, too, eventually stumbled upon a fallen suit of armor. With a lazy flick of her wrist she righted the fallen metal exoskeleton and looked around for the culprit. The hall seemed to be deserted, but Hermione unnervingly felt like someone was watching her every move.

Hermione gasped and turned as she heard a rustle of fabric, padded footsteps, and the soft _thwap_ of a billowing cloak. She turned in time to see several of the tapestries sway from the wind that the mystery person caused. Hermione dropped down into a dueling position.

"Who's there? Show yourself," she demanded with only a slight edge of fear trembling in her voice. There was a low, feminine laugh that echoed quietly through the hall and Hermione couldn't pinpoint the source. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. Even the paintings were looking scared of the unknown person. Hermione opened her mouth to speak again but the soft voice beat her to it.

"Who's afraid . . . of the big . . . bad . . . wolf?" the female voice taunted in a sing-song voice, "The big, bad wolf. The big, bad wolf . . ." Hermione had heard her share of fairy tales in her youth, including 'The Three Little Pigs' which this song was from, but none of them had ever sounded as creepy and as threatening as this jingle did in the dark hallway.

"You're out past curfew," Hermione stated attempting to reign in her fear, "you need to report back to your dorm . . ."

"Who's afraid of . . . the big . . . bad . . . wolf?" the voice continued to taunt getting louder and more definite, "The big . . . bad . . . wolf. The big, bad wolf . . ." Hermione could now distinctly hear the Scottish accent of the female. Hermione had stayed in her spot and spun slowly about in the hallway looking for the source. When she had completed a full circle and was facing the way she had came she let out a startled cry.

There standing in her way was a person about her height dressed in a hooded cloak that hid her clothes underneath as well as the features of her face.

Hermione, startled stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor and scrambled backwards as the person took slow steps towards her. She was scared witless, this whole thing seemed like something out of a muggle horror movie. She realized only one person would pull such a stunt.

"Look, Malfoy," Hermione said regaining her courage, "I don't care if you _are_ a Prefect. Unless you're scheduled to patrol, the curfew applies to you too."

"Me name's not Malfoy," the female retorted, "I dun' even know a Malfoy." The girl ripped of the cloak exposing her completely. Hermione smothered a gasp.

The girl probably her age or a year younger and was in a blood-stained green, long-sleeved shirt and pair of jeans. The jeans had gaping holes at the knees and the shirt was torn in various places. She had dark reddish-brown hair that was caked with grime and blood. Hermione knew it was blood because of the disgusting, slightly metallic scent coming from her. She had a slightly heart-shaped face, small mouth and narrowed blue-green eyes.

Those eyes looked so familiar too . . .

"W-w-who are you," Hermione stuttered as she stood and raised her wand. The girl laughed coldly and began prowling towards her.

"Why does it matter?" The girl growled in an animalistic tone, "ye'll be dead shortly." Hermione's eyes went wide as the girl started to shift and transform in front of her. Short reddish-brown fur sprouted all over her body and her posture became more hunched and she looked . . . well . . . she looked _exactly_ like Professor Lupin had when they had seen him transform after leaving the tunnel under the Whomping Willow.

"Rahne," Hermione burst out, "You're Rahne Lupin. You're Professor Lupin's daughter." A feral growl rose from the transformed girl's throat.

"I am not _Rahne Lupin_," she growled stalking towards the now quaking Hermione, "I am Vallerie Greyback." Hermione then flicked her wand and shouted the incantation for the Body Binding Curse, but the agile Vallerie dodged it and knocked the wand from Hermione's hand and it went rolling down the hall, far from the witch's grasp. With a feral snarl, Vallerie leapt towards Hermione as the other girl let loose a blood-curdling scream which was quickly cut off as Vallerie's claws tore through the soft flesh of Hermione's throat.

XXXXXXXX

Ron had been one floor away from the common room when a heavy, fast moving person collided into him. This force of the blow sent both Ron and the other person crashing to the floor. Ron got up and tenderly rubbed his back side and picked up his wand.

"_Lumos_," Ron said angrily and the circle around him was bathed in light revealing his best friend hurriedly getting up off the floor, "Harry? What's wrong?" Harry looked at the map worriedly and ran off motioning for Ron to follow.

"I had a vision of Hermione being attacked," Harry explained as they sprinted through the halls, "Lupin's daughter is going to attack her." He looked at the map again just as a blood-curdling scream echoed through the silent halls from its spot of origin to the Syltherin dungeon common room to the Astronomy Tower where a couple was snogging.

"Hermione!" the boys yelled as the continued running, following the map, and the scream was cut off abruptly.

"Bloody hell, bloody hell, bloody hell," Ron was chanting as they ran past McGonagall's opened office door as she stepped out wrapping a green robe around herself.

"Ron, Harry, what . . ." she began confusedly, but the boys didn't stop running.

"Hermione is being attacked by Lupin's daughter," Harry yelled over his shoulder and McGonagall was soon chasing after the boys. As the three raced down a flight of stairs, they ran past Professor Flitwick, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Vector. Without a word, the three other teachers fell into stride with McGonagall who filled them in on what Harry had shouted at her as he ran.

"Where are they, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked as Harry glanced at the map not caring if or how Dumbledore knew about the map. He was only concerned about getting to Hermione before something horrible happened.

"At the end of the fourth floor corridor," Harry replied as they raced towards the growing sounds of a struggle.

XXXXXXXX

Hermione was stumbling through the dark halls blindly with one hand out in front of her and the other clutching her throat. Vallerie/Rahne's initial attack was a swipe at her throat that mangled her vocal chords and windpipe. She could feel the blood seeping though her fingers as the struggled through the halls breathing erratically. The were-girl had gotten several good shots at Hermione tearing through the flesh of her right arm, left leg, and left five long gashes across her back. Hermione felt defenseless without her wand and had resorted to the only defense she knew.

Running.

Hermione could hear the growls and pants of her pursuer growing steadily closer and louder. Hermione tried to run faster, but the blood loss and lack of sufficient oxygen were slowing her down greatly. She felt a large form tackle her as they went rolling across the floor before slamming to a stop. Hermione heard a sickening crack and an excruciating amount of pain that made her want to scream. She looked down at her leg which was bent at a sharp, unnatural angle. She looked back up at Vallerie/Rahne in her half-wolf form with fearful tears in her eyes.

"Fear," the wolf-girl growled as she lowered her face to right in front of Hermione's quickly paling face, "I love the smell of it." Vallerie/Rahne raised her clawed hand for the final attack. Hermione closed her eyes waiting for it to come, but it never did. Instead she heard a powerful voice shout: "_Flippendo!_"

Hermione watched as Vallerie/Rahne went spiraling through the air and collided with a wall. She turned her head the best she could to see who her savior was. Professor Dumbledore stepped forward followed closely by Professors Flitwick and Vector. Professor McGonagall, Harry and Ron rushed to Hermione's side.

"My God," McGonagall murmured surveying her student's wound and did her best to heal some of them. Harry and Ron were speechless as they looked at Hermione's bloodied body.

"Rahne, stop this utter nonsense," Dumbledore commanded coldly. Everyone else in the hall could feel the power radiation off of him, including his wayward goddaughter. Vallerie/Rahne shook it off and snarled at him.

"For the last time," she snarled looking at him coldly and licking her lips like a dog, "me name's not Rahne. It's Vallerie . . ."

"_Hem, hem_, Dumbledore what is the meaning of this?" the voice of Delores Umbridge demanded as she entered the hall followed by Professor Snape (who upon seeing the were-girl and the blood covered Hermione became far paler than was natural for any human being) and several other professors. The toad-like woman stared in shock at the semi-feral girl facing off against the headmaster. The girl turned and looked at Dumbledore before transforming back into a completely normal state.

"Ye are Professor Dumbledore," she taunted looking him up and down, "I dun' see what's so special about ye. Just another useless, old man . . ."

"Rahne, listen to me," Dumbledore said calmly, "you can fight the hold Fenrir has on you . . ."

"Enough old man," Rahne cut him off, "He's me father and I won't have ye speakin' ill of him. Now the Dark Lord sends his greetings," she said with a savage smile and looked back at Hermione, "Ye got a lucky break, lassie. Next time ye won't be as fortunate." With a truly evil smile, Rahne transformed into her were-form without warning and jumped through a large window pane causing it to shatter and send her falling four stories to the ground. Dumbledore raced to the window and watched painfully as Rahne transformed completely into a wolf and vanish into the forest surrounding the grounds.


	16. A London Meeting

**A/N:** Hey you guys! I'll bet a lot of you thought I had died or simply dropped off the face of the earth, but no, I'm still here. I'm sorry about the lack of updating, but things have gotten quite hectic around here. I'm finishing up my first semester of college, and finals are looming around the corner (they actually start next Saturday. I know finals on a Saturday and at 9 am no less!). I've been studying like a mad woman and this chapter is long, LONG overdue.

This chapter was lovingly hand-crafted by the wonderful Jinxeh.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16: A London Meeting

"Da'!" called Vallerie breathlessly, stumbling over the grass and into the depths of the Forbidden Forest with a note of urgency to be found in her voice. Her father was waiting for her there, leaning sideways against the trunk of a tree at least thirty feet into the woods itself. As she approached him, he pushed away from the trunk and looked at her with a gleeful expression.

"Were you successful?" he asked with the ghost of a grin on her face, able to see the new bloodstains splattered over her neck and billowing cloak.

"No," Vallerie growled, wiping the smirk off of his face instantly. "The old muggle-lover stopped me. Threw me into a wall too," she added darkly, rubbing her shoulder tenderly. "Had ta' jump outta one a' the windows to escape 'im an' all the others that were surroundin' me…"

"The blood…?" asked Fenrir with narrowed eyes, gesturing to the bloodstains upon her. Slowly, she began to smile again, exposing her slightly sharpened canine teeth as she did.

"She's hurt," said Vallerie triumphantly. "Tore 'er throat out, broke 'er leg, scratched 'er up a fair bit too!"

"That'll have to do for now," said Fenrir with a nod, though his tone suggested that he was uncertain about it. The Dark Lord had told him that Hermione Granger was to be killed, not horrifically injured, after all… "Come now, Vallerie," he said, extended a hand to her and taking the upper part of her left arm firmly. She smiled up at him as he did, and a moment later they were gone with an earsplitting _BANG_ from the forest.

XXXXXXXX

"You should have seen her face," Hermione whispered with a noticeable shudder as she forced her words out of her sore throat. Healed or not, it was still causing her great pain just to speak. "It was like she was a horrible a-animal…I…she was really going to k-kill me!"

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," said Ron shakily, his face so pale that his freckles were standing out sharply, like someone had taken a magic marker and had made black dots all over his face. "I…you told me to meet you back at the tower…I should have found you first though…"

He shook his head, not for the first time that night, and looked down at the cold stone floor of the Hogwarts hospital wing uncomfortably. Harry, who stood on the other side of the cot that Madame Pomfrey had forced Hermione down into, looked at Ron with an expression of sympathy, but didn't offer a comment to go along with it. On the other side of the hospital wing, a small band of adults were talking quietly amongst themselves, Pomfrey included.

Harry could understand why Ron was acting more frightened than he might have been normally. Not only did he blame himself slightly for all of what had happened, but he had been frightened to death about Hermione herself. She had almost not made it to the hospital wing alive.

McGonagall had done all she could at the scene to heal Hermione to the best of her abilities, but she was no doctor. Her throat had remained gashed and bleeding, her leg had remained broken and bent at an excruciatingly painful angle. Dumbledore had made hasty work of conjuring up a stretcher, and Ron, Harry, and McGonagall had run ahead with her on it so as to get her to Pomfrey as quickly as possible.

A small group of staff members had been sent out onto the grounds and into the forest to search for any sign of Vallerie/Rahne, but it was in vain. Of course, no one had expected anyone to come back with anything; she had long since been gone by the time anyone actually got out onto the grounds itself.

"I can't believe that the Werewolf Thrall is working that well on her…" mumbled Hermione in a fearful whisper, making the other two look to her in apparent confusion, having no idea as to what she was talking about. She smiled weakly. "It has to be the Werewolf Thrall…its how Greyback is controlling her. And we know its Greyback because we overheard Moody and Lupin talking, remember?"

"Oh…sure…" said Ron with a slight shrug, his eyes still on the floor below his feet. He could remember it very well, but at the time he was not exactly up to the idea of talking about anything that had to do with Lupin's daughter.

"Enough of that," said Madame Pomfrey severely, walking over and pointing one stern finger to the girl lying on the cot. "I said you were _beginning_ to heal; you still have a way to go, now. You two, you need to leave," she said, gesturing to Ron and Harry snappily.

"Oh—no!" said Harry quickly, looking to the other adults in the room that had begun to walk towards the cot as well for support. Unfortunately, he saw none to be seen there, on the faces of Snape, Dumbledore (who wasn't even meeting Harry's eyes for some strange reason), McGonagall, and several others. He only felt the smallest feeling of relief that Umbridge was not there. "Professors, we wanted to stay with—"

"No, Miss. Granger needs her rest," said McGonagall sternly, peering at the two sulking boys from over her wireless spectacles. "You two need to go to your dormitories."

It was no use in arguing with her, both of the boys soon found out, for only a minute later they were on their way towards the door of the hospital wing, sour expressions upon their still slightly pale faces.

"Potter, Weasley," said McGonagall grimly as she escorted them out into the hallway. When the door leading into the hospital wing was shut, blocking the voices of those still inside of it, it was quiet in the hallway except for them. "I doubt I need to tell you to keep quiet about this. There is no need to instigate any fear among the others students."

"Of course, Professor," mumbled Harry and Ron under their breath and in unison, making them both look at each other in slight surprise when they did. She nodded, and then sighed deeply, one hand over her left temple as she shook her head tiredly. It was obvious as to what a toll this was taking on the older Order members.

"Good," she said tiredly. "Good night you two. You may come back to see Miss Granger in the morning," she added as the two turned their backs and began walking down the hallway towards the end staircase. She watched them go for a moment before squaring her shoulders and sighing again before turning around and entering the hospital wing yet again.

"Miss. Granger, what exactly happened before the initial attack?" Dumbledore was asking Hermione quietly, looking down at her from the foot of her cot with a somber expression imprinted upon his ancient face. The other staff members surrounded the cot as well, each curious to find out what had happened that night. It was understandable that the girl needed her rest, Dumbledore knew, but it was also important that he found out what exactly happened as soon as possible.

"We—Ron and I—were doing our prefect rounds," began Hermione with a scratchy sound to her voice, also sounding a little nervous because of the number of people around her. "We heard something, a crash, down one of the corridors, but before we could both see what it was, there was another crash from another hallway. So we split up, saying we would meet again in the Gryffindor Common room later."

"She must have been very quick in order to cause both crashes in such a short period of time," said McGonagall with a frown. Somehow, the idea that she had had someone helping her just didn't seem right; Fenrir wouldn't have wanted to risk his own life as well in such a situation. But, knowing him, he had still probably been somewhere nearby…

"I suppose," said Hermione weakly. "I went and found that some armor had fallen over, so I fixed it up and was about to go again when I heard…well…s-singing," she said, her cheeks rather red and her voice beginning to stutter somewhat. She could see the girl's face again, twisted in malevolence as she raised one hand, ready for the kill…

"Singing?" repeated Dumbledore unsurely. "Rahne was…singing to you?"

"Y-yes…" muttered Hermione with a wince, "It was a song from a muggle nursery tale… "The Three Little Pigs," I think. It was the "Big Bad Wolf" song…"

Although unsure if he knew what that song was, Dumbledore gave a nod of understanding at her words, and so she continued on, her voice becoming steadily shakier with every word that she said.

"She came out and she was wearing this cloak…I-I thought she might have been another prefect, playing a joke, but then she lowered her hood…" she shuddered, aware that they could all see how much trouble she was having in saying it again. Violent flashes of what had happened appeared before her eyes, making her have to fight against the wave of tears that was threatening to come forth. "She j-just attacked m-me; got around m-my spells like they were n-n-_nothing_…"

"Did she say anything to you?" asked Dumbledore gently, trying his best not to upset her any more than was necessary. She was still a sorry sight to behold to him; her robes were torn and stained with blood, especially in the area below her neck. Her neck itself was wrapped in bandages, and her leg had been set into a temporary cast while it healed by the magic Madame Pomfrey had put upon it. Her eyes were still wide and wild-looking, which was probably what they had been like during the time it had happened. Plus, they still had no idea if Rahne's bites and scratches would have some sort of lasting effect on her…

"N-no…" said Hermione in obvious confusion, then giving a start as she remembered that she indeed had heard something from her. "W-well…only threats and such…she s-said she could s-smell my f-fear…" she added with a harsh shudder, making Madame Pomfrey and Professor's McGonagall and Flitwick shake their heads sadly, their faces set into grim frowns.

"I see…" said Dumbledore carefully, seemingly deep in thought for a moment before he finally nodded, turning to the others. "We'll leave Miss. Granger to rest right now; Minerva and Severus, please go alert all of the staff members and tell them to convene in the staff room in twenty minutes. They all need to be alerted of this."

Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall both nodded and had gone from the hospital wing quickly, followed by the other staff members as well, except for Madame Pomfrey, who was staying mostly for Hermione's benefit.

"She'll recover, Headmaster," said Pomfrey with a sigh. "But still…I don't know what kind of lasting effects this could have…"

"If she isn't a werewolf, i-is her bite c-cursed?" asked Hermione somewhat fearfully. Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, exchanging a meaningful glance with Pomfrey before looking down at the fifth year girl with a kind expression.

"We have no reason to believe that right now," he said surely, though he could see his words were doing nothing to console her. "Rahne is not indeed a werewolf, but because of her…ah…wolf-like _qualities_, it is rather difficult to say. If I had to make my guess however, I would have to say that no, they are not cursed."

He was, of course, being purposely vague about what exactly Rahne was, as Madame Pomfrey was listening in to every word intently, but Hermione understood. Pomfrey most likely thought that Rahne was an animagus or something of the sort. It could not easily be said that the girl that had attacked a Hogwarts student that night was a mutant for fear of instilling a panic among those that did not know of the situation going on with the Order.

"This has been hard for her," said Pomfrey with a sigh. "A potion perhaps? A dreamless sleep might be best for her right now," she said, looking down to Hermione with a slightly sympathetic look. Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully and she bustled away into her office to collect the potion.

It was around that moment just then that the door leading into the hospital wing burst open and Remus Lupin almost stumbled in, looking around in a panic, his face pale and his eyes wide. When he caught sight of Hermione and Dumbledore at the end of the row of cots, he shook his head in disbelief and ran over, almost sliding to a stop at the foot of her cot, next to Dumbledore.

"Hermione," he said weakly, looking at the condition that she and her robes were in weakly. "I received a note from Dumbledore—did R-Rahne do th-_this_?" he asked, his eyes rather shiny now that he was voicing it, and his voice breaking almost completely.

"She was here, Remus," said Dumbledore before she could answer. He was doing the best he could so that Hermione did not have to speak too much; she still hadn't been completely healed just yet. "Not of her own free will, of course. You have to remember that," he said meaningfully, putting a hand on Remus's shoulder. The younger man looked as though he was about to faint.

"How can I remember that when it's still Rahne that's the one doing it?" asked Remus halfheartedly, steadying himself by putting his hands down on the end of the cot, his head bowed and his lanky brown and silver hair hanging in his face. "And Hermione…my _God_, are you all right?" he asked feebly, looking into her own eyes, the pain evident in both of their own.

"I'll be all right, Professor Lupin," mumbled Hermione softly, finally breaking his gaze and shrugging slightly, looking down into her lap with another shudder. "B-but Professor Dumbledore's right…it wasn't her f-fault…"

"Remus, you need to get your hand fixed properly," said Dumbledore firmly, looking down to see the bandages that had been wrapped around his broken fingers. Of course the headmaster had been informed of all that had gone on at King Cross Station, and as much as it frustrated him to know that Rahne and Fenrir had gotten away, he had been more than surprised to hear of the behavior that Remus had displayed afterwards.

He had always known Remus Lupin to be a very calm and collected man, never showing a rash action or any sort of disturbing behavior that anyone should have been concerned about before. But now, when he looked into those blue-green eyes that the werewolf had, he saw none of that there anymore. His eyes were sunken and in pain, his face was pale, his hair was lanky and stringy, hanging in his eyes none-too-gracefully. If Albus didn't know any better, he would have had to say that Lupin had been losing a rather unhealthy amount of weight of late as well.

And still it seemed that he had yet to get his hand healed; the one he had broken when he had slammed it into the wall in Grimmauld Place's kitchen. Albus knew exactly why this was; the werewolf had been scouring the streets himself since the incident at the train station, searching in vain for the daughter that had been so near and yet so far away from her. When he was not doing that, he had locked himself up in the room he occupied at the headquarters. He had spared no time in getting his hand fixed just yet, and it showed. His fingers looked positively mangled now.

"Go to Madame Pomfrey," said Albus, taking the shaking Remus Lupin by his shoulders and steering him towards the door leading into the medi-witch's office. "It's not safe to leave that broken still."

Surprisingly, Lupin did not even try to protest anymore. Hermione watched him go with a pained look in her eyes; pain that was caused only halfway because of what she had just been through. It was obvious to her now, Remus Lupin's spirit had been broken to a point to where he could not fight against anything anymore…

XXXXXXXX

He had returned to Grimmauld Place later that night, but somehow Remus Lupin just could not find himself staying there for very long. He hated having to go among the other people that were currently taking up residence in the hideout; whenever he entered a room, the looks that he received from the others made it clear about how they felt about his plight. He hated that; all he wanted was for his daughter to be found and taken away from that brute, Greyback. The amount of pity being directed his way was going to do nothing to help him with that.

And those X-Men…they certainly were not helping things for him either. He could not rightly blame them for Rahne being taken away once more at the train station. That wasn't their fault any more than it was his. If anything, they were at more of a disadvantage than the magical beings, being caught unawares by the different forms of magic always been thrown into their faces. But still…

He had hoped that with the mutants that had befriended Rahne before would be of great help in locating his daughter. With the telepathic Jean Grey, the boy who could shoot optic laser beams from his eyes, Scott Summers, and all of their strange mutant friends, he had hoped that at least one of them would have come through to find Rahne. They were working hard, and he recognized this, but so far their efforts were in vain.

What was worse was seeing the emotions of torment that some of them were going through as well. Ever since Jean Grey had seen what had been inside of Rahne's head, she had been pale and rather twitchy. It reminded him of what Moody had been like after he had first gotten out of the trunk that Bartemus Crouch Jr. had imprisoned him in. She had described the turmoil going on inside of the young Scottish girl's head well enough, but he could only imagine what it had felt like to actually be there and see it all.

Even worse was the behavior of the girl known as Cadence. It had to be said that Remus had begun viewing her in a completely different light after Logan had told him how it was that she had come into existence, but that only helped to explain a small part of why she did some of the things she did. Just that very morning she had acted like she had completely lost her mind, almost lunging at Rogue. The older goth girl had been muttering darkly, and had let slip that maybe this really was as lost a cause as it seemed. Of course Rogue had not really meant what she had said, but Cadence had taken her seriously.

It was Logan that had been forced to drag Cadence out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room so she wouldn't do any harm to anyone. After explaining to her that Rogue was using a rather hopeless sort of sarcasm, Logan had confined her to her room for the rest of the night as well, just in case. Remus found it rather difficult to believe that someone her age had such problems in understanding the simplest of emotions and sentiments.

But now it was nightfall. There was no Order meeting scheduled for that night, what with the problems that had arose at Hogwarts, and so there was no real need for Remus to have stayed at Grimmauld Place. Before Molly Weasley could catch up to him and start telling him that everything was going to be all right while she tried to hug him again, he had gone out of the front door and was making his way down the dingy muggle street, his hands in his cloak pockets, his head bowed.

XXXXXXXX

He wasn't sure why he had apparated back to London once more. Remus felt sure that he must have combed over every street, every sidewalk, every dingy alley in the entire city by that time as he looked for his kidnapped daughter. And yet he found himself returning anyways, his eyes on the ground as he walked, that same sullen expression to be seen on his face. It seemed that he could not rid that expression from his face anymore.

He passed the odd muggle as he walked down the street, and although he was oblivious to the strange glances that they offered his way, what with him in his patched and ragged cloak and looking so deathly ill at the same time, it was slightly unnerving still. He ignored them for the most part.

The streetlamps shone brightly down on the pavement, illuminating those who passed underneath them; the young couples, out for a night on the town; the friends, traveling in small groups as they traveled from tavern to tavern that night. Every once in a while there was a family, or a parent walking with their child beside them or in a carriage. He didn't even look up at those happy families; he felt it would have broken his heart if he had.

Not that his heart hadn't already been broken more than once in his life. When Liona had been killed…he had felt such a rage inside of him, that it had almost frightened even himself. But he had retained his composure, knowing that he had to remain strong. When he had given Rahne away, she at least had still been alive, and he had been so sure that she would remain so long after he would have, one day, passed on himself. It had been of great pain for him to have had to give away his only child…but he had been so sure that it had been the right thing at the time.

Regret was flowing through his veins now, as he wondered what would have happened if he had fought the system and had kept his daughter anyways. There would have been that great chance that the Ministry would have forcefully taken her away anyways…but what if he could have kept her? Would he have been able to keep her out of harm's way?

Remus just couldn't help but think that if he had been the one to raise her, then he would have been able to prevent anything like that from happening to her. He would have never let her be taken by Pettigrew, he felt so sure of it! Of course, she would have still been a mutant, and, most likely, would have still gone to the Xavier Institute…but if she had spent her childhood with him, then she would have known Pettigrew when she saw him. She might have run into "The Leaky Cauldron" if pursued, but she might have flooed out of danger then, and would have found him, or another Order member. Right at that time, she would have been returned safely to her school in America, or would be spending some time at Grimmauld Place, with him…

But even as he thought of these more pleasant scenarios, he shook his head darkly, knowing that what he was thinking was very wrong. There was no use in trying to imagine what life would have been like if things had turned out differently. The point of the matter was that what had happened _happened_, and it was all he could do now to try to set things right again.

Of course, that was if it was even possible to set things right once more. He knew in his heart that even if Rahne…no _when_ Rahne was found again, she might never be the same as she was before. He couldn't stand the fact that he had no idea what she had even been like before…but he would be able to tell how different she was from the normal teenaged girl that she had been when she had first set out for London. She had been forced against her will to kill. His little baby girl had killed…

He shuddered and shook his head again, the expression on his face darkening as he walked along the pavement at a slow pace. The Werewolf Thrall was practically a perversion against nature, and there his own daughter had been exposed to it in the worst way possible, by the worst _person_ that could have possibly been responsible by it.

Remus forced himself to not grit his teeth in his anger, just thinking about the lone man that had caused him so much pain in his life. He had killed Liona in cold blood, just like that, and then, years later, he had gone back to finish the job by taking Rahne prisoner. Despite even that fact, what was really burning Remus up inside was the fact that Rahne…Rahne thought that she was Fenrir's _daughter_.

This time he had to force down a sudden lump in his throat as he thought about that. He would have never believed, Werewolf Thrall or not, that Rahne would have been tricked in such a way as to think the man holding her captive was her father. He had hardly been able to believe it when Jean Grey had first said it, and he hardly could now. But when Jean had said those things…when she had described what she had seen in Rahne's head…he had just lost control of his emotions. Everything became a blur to him, and he had just wanted to lash out and cause pain to those which had done the same to him. His vision and his mind had only begun to clear up when he had felt a tremendous amount of pain in his then broken hand from when he had punched the wall.

His hand was now healed of course, but his mind was still far from being so. There was nothing Madame Pomfrey could have done for that, not that he had even bothered to ask. He couldn't believe all of the pain that he, that his daughter, had been put through in such a short amount of time…why, he was even beginning to see her everywhere. In the eyes of every child that he saw walking with her father down the pavement, he saw Rahne looking back at him. He knew what she looked like; Jean Grey had projected the image of her, before the mutants had gone to London, into his head so he could see her better and get to know her the way she had been before. It was a sweet gesture on her part, but it didn't make him feel any better about her disappearance.

He could see her in the children that walked with their parents. He could see her, laughing with her friends among the groups of muggle teenagers that made their way down the sidewalk cheerily. Why, he even saw her standing on the street corner alone, under the light of the lamppost…

He blinked suddenly, stopping in his tracks as he looked ahead of himself with wide and disbelieving eyes. Wait…that wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him…it _was_ Rahne!

There was no doubting it at all! She stood under the glow of the streetlamp, leaning against the metal pole with her shoulder, her arms crossed and a furtive grin on her face as she stared right back at him. She looked the same as she had been described to him before; she still had the billowing and filthy black cloak draped around her. Her dark hair was soaked and crusted through with blood and grime; there was hardly a clean spot upon her face. Her neck seemed to be covered in drying and brown blood; she had it encrusted under her long fingernails as well…

"Rahne?" whispered Remus disbelievingly, walking forwards now with hesitant steps. The thought never even crossed his mind to reach for his wand. "Rahne…is…is that y-you?" he stuttered as she pushed away from the lamppost. With another cheeky grin, she winked at him once before she dashed out of his sight, turning the corner before he had even realized what had happened.

"_Rahne_!" he was shouting now, running after her heedlessly, unaware of the stares he was receiving from the muggles on the street as well. "Rahne, please _wait_!"

When he turned the corner, the only thing he could remember seeing before his vision exploded in lights and stars was one clawed hand rushing towards his uncovered face. The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back on the damp pavement, blinking up at the sky in confusion.

"Wha…what…_Rahne_…?" he asked weakly, struggling to catch his breath, though he was still seeing dots of white, and now red, swimming across his vision.

"Me name's not _Rahne_, ye great big prat," came the surly reply as someone suddenly leaned over him, standing at his side. "It's Vallerie, and ye'd do good ta' remember it!"

"Rahne, no!" Remus suddenly found himself shouting as, using all of the force he could possibly muster, he forced himself to his feet yet again as she girl backed away. Under the light of another streetlamp, and two of them were in clear view of the muggles that had been walking along the street, though neither of them paid that any attention. "You're not _Vallerie_!" he protested, accidentally stumbling and leaning back against the brick wall of the book store that they were standing in front of, one hand over his right cheek, which was no bleeding. Rahne/Vallerie glared at him, and it seemed that before he could even blink, she was in her feral half-wolf form, leering at him with cold and unmerciful eyes. And yet, even with a deformed snout, she was still able to talk quiet clearly…

"Me _name_ is Vallerie," she growled, flexing one of her clawed hands threateningly. "Call me Rahne again, and yer death 'ill be a painful one…"

Remus had been slowly moving his hand towards his wand, which was hidden inside of a pocket of his cloak, but now he stopped, his hand just inches away from reaching into the pocket. No matter what the situation, there was just no way that he could have forced himself to use magic against his daughter.

"You have to listen to me," said Remus between gritted teeth, his heart pounding in his chest. "You can't do this…you're _not_ Vallerie Greyback! You—"

"_SHUT UP_!" Rahne/Vallerie suddenly screamed, apparently not liking to hear that she was not indeed a girl named Vallerie. Even as Remus raised one arm in defense, his own quickness was no match for the nearly feral girl's agility, and he had earned four deep claw slashes in the side of his face for it. That had been the bad to come of that, but there was some good as well. He was ready for her next move.

Rahne/Vallerie screamed again and raised both of her claws, ready to lunge at him as the people on the streets began screaming in fear to see a man being attacked by some sort of feral monster. He gritted his teeth and lunged forwards just as she did, catching her thin, furry, wrists and holding them tightly. As she began to suddenly growl and try to bite at him, he turned around on the spot and forced _her_ back against the wall, pinning her wrists to the red brick as tightly as he even dared.

Somehow when he had imagined meeting his estranged daughter in person again after so many years of being apart, this wasn't how he had pictured it in his mind.

She was surprisingly strong, even coming close to matching him in height. With the blood and grime coating her fur as it did her skin when she had been in human form, she looked positively rabid. Spittle flew from between her sharpened teeth, her eyes were wide and wild, and he found that it was a near-impossible task to just hold her there.

"_Listen to me_," Remus panted as she tried to raise her wrists from the brick, almost succeeding in the process before they slammed back into the red brick once more because of the pressure out upon them by her father. "You have to stop this! _Please_! Look inside yourself—you'll see who you _are_, Rahne! _Please_!"

"DON'T—CALL—ME—_RAHNE_!" she screamed, forcing her wrists away from the wall and twisted out of her father's grip. As he backed away, fear to be seen in his green and blue eyes, she growled and lunged towards him, catching him as easily as a housecat would a spider. Her claws found his throat easily, slashed at his flesh, buried themselves in what was once his windpipe and vocal cords, but was now just mangled flesh, part of a limp body that was being lowered unceremoniously to the pavement; his blood coated her arms, splashed upon her face and snout, into her eyes and her fur as she grinned, truly enjoying what she was doing…

XXXXXXXX

With a strangled sort of shout, Remus Lupin sat bolt-upright in his bed, clutching at his chest and feeling at his racing heart as though having a heart attack right then and there. His bedroom at Grimmauld Place was quiet except for the sounds of his own harsh breathing as he struggled to draw in air.

His eyes wide, he looked around the room wildly, as though expecting to see her, Rahne, suddenly jump out at him from the shadows, blood all over her, her claws extended…

But he was alone in his room, no matter how hard he peered into the shadows with bloodshot eyes. His cloak hung with a blue bathrobe on the back of the door on a hook, there was a mirror over the dresser to his left, that was snoring soundly. It took him a moment, but finally he lowered his hands to his sides, though his chest was still heaving with the effort of breathing.

It had all just been a dream, then? Well, more like a nightmare really…but it had seemed too real to him! He had sworn he was there…Rahne had been there…he had felt the pain when she had torn into his throat. Almost instantly, his hands flew up to his throat. He found to his relief that he had not a scratch on that or on his face where she had struck him during the nightmare.

"God no…" he mumbled, letting his hands fall down limply to his sides as he fell onto his back once more. His head resting on his pillow, and one arm being draped over his eyes, he shook with his repressed sobs, struggling, but not succeeding, to contain the cries that were wracking his whole body.

He could remember it now…he had gone to Hogwarts, had seen what had been done to Hermione…had gotten his hand fixed up by Madame Pomfrey, and had gone back to Grimmauld Place. He had meant to go out again that night, to continue on his fruitless search for his daughter, but had fallen asleep before he could even do that…

But that didn't change the fact that, at that moment, he was scared positively senseless. It was not because of what he had gone through in that horrible, horrible dream…but because of the way he had seen Rahne. The way she had denied her real name, her bloodied appearance, the way she had seemed desperate to claw at him and kill him in any way necessary…

Was that what she was really like now that Fenrir Greyback had her under his control?

"No…" Remus mumbled shaking his head in disbelief, keeping his eyes shut as tightly as he could. "No…God, _no_…"

XXXXXXXX

"Nah, Chuck," said Logan with a sigh, talking into the communication device he held in his hand carefully as he paced back and forth in the small square located in the middle of the dark neighborhood. Bill Weasley stood by the cracked fountain in the center, his arms crossed as he waited for Logan to finish with the conversation he was having with Professor Xavier. Bill had come along to make sure that Logan was going to be able to get into Grimmauld Place once more, just in case Logan's knowing the location wasn't enough to bring the house up again.

When Logan had tried to contact the professor a few days beforehand, after the incident at King Cross Station, he had found that it was very difficult to do so when Professor Xavier was not in Cerebro to do it. Moody had explained that muggle technology sometimes malfunctioned when around a vast amount of magic, and so it made sense when Logan could barely heard Professor Xavier through all of the static coming through the communicator when trying to contact the man when in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

If it had been Hogwarts, then Moody had said that the communicators, no matter how advanced they were, would not have worked at all. But because of the dark magical origin of the house itself, and the fact that they had practically every protective and secret-keeping spell known to wizarding kind over the house in order to keep it hidden from anyone who was not part of the Order itself, it simply messed with the lines of communication instead.

"Nah…" said Logan again, and with another sigh. "They said that the girl...what's-her-face…they said she was ripped up pretty bad, but they healed her up quick enough. Yeah…yeah, she's gonna be fine from what I know."

"Hermione," Bill said in reminding when Logan could not remember the girl's name.

"Right, Hermione," said Logan in irritation into the device. "But she's gonna be fine. No…they said they used magic to heal her. No…she got away too quickly. Last that Dumbledore guy saw, she was running into some forest that's around the school. Didn't find her later, when they sent people after her…"

Logan paused again as Bill looked down at the watch in his hands, seeing without surprise that it was after midnight already. Really though, it was barely five o' clock in the afternoon in America because of the time difference.

"Yeah," said Logan finally, a touch of impatience in his voice again. "Sure…right. I'll call ya if we come up with anything else. Right…bye," he said finally, then flipping the communicator closed again with a surly expression. "I hate these things," he muttered in disdain, looking down at the communication device before stuffing into the pocket of his brown leather jacket. "C'mon," he muttered, starting down the street in the direction of Grimmauld Place with Bill following.

"What did your professor say?" asked Bill in interest.

"The usual," replied Logan gruffly. "Keep a sharp eye out…if I find her with Cerebro I'll contact you…be ready at any moment to find her again…bunch of useless info if you ask me," he said with a sigh. "I'm startin' to think it's gonna take a miracle to find the Runt now…"

XXXXXXXX

When Logan and Bill walked back into the kitchen if Grimmauld Place a couple of minutes later, it was only to find that a small verbal confrontation had been started, going on between Rogue and Jean. Each was standing behind a different side of the large table, and each was glaring at the other with fire to be seen in their eyes.

"Ah'm tellin' ya!" Rogue spat angrily. "Ah can do this!"

"But you can't protect your mind from him!" Jean snapped back, her normally calm, collected, and even kind façade abandoned as she faced off with the Goth southern girl. "I can! You would be in there for five _seconds_ before he would know you were lying about your intentions! Let _me_ go; I can stop that from happening!"

"What part of 'ya—can't—do—magic' don't ya understand?" demanded Rogue heatedly, her hands on her hips. "If Ah can absorb some magic from Tonks here, then Ah can pass for a witch! Ya can't!"

Meanwhile, Sirius, Molly, Charlie, Cadence, Piotr, Remy, and Scott were watching in what could only be known as slight amusement from the other side of the table, keeping themselves out of range of the mutant girls. Logan sighed angrily, running a hand through his hair in frustration, almost growling.

"Why do you two have to _argue_ about everything?" he asked heatedly, making everyone turn to look at him as Bill sidled past him and joined the others on the other side of the table. "Haven't you ever heard of a _compromise_?"

"Ah am not compromising with her!" Rogue spat, pointing one shaking finger towards Jean with a girl. "Miss. Ah'm-so-perfect can't wrap her head 'round the fact that she can't do magic!"

"Enough!" said Logan quickly cutting her off before she could say anything more. "Look…I've been thinkin' about it, and I talked to Chuck about it too, and we think, that if we _really_ need to put another spy in there with this _Voldemort_ guy…we might be able to make it happen."

"How?" asked Cadence suspiciously, of course, being the first person to speak up about his statement.

"First off, you two are going to have to get past tryin' to tear each other's heads off," said Logan, gesturing between the sulking Jean and Rogue. "And you're both gonna have to work together on it."

"Ah am not working with her," muttered Rogue between clenched teeth, earning her a glare from Logan.

"If you wanna get the Runt back, you will," he growled warningly. She didn't respond to this, but she didn't contradict against it either. Her hopes of still finding Rahne and saving her once more were too strong to allow for her petty dislike of Jean to get in the way. "Look…Chuck thinks that if Stripes wants to do it, then she _should_ be the one to do it."

"But—" Jean started in protest, being cut off by Logan, who put a firm hand up in order to silence her.

"But Red's goin' to have to help her. Every time that Stripes' in contact with this Voldemort guy himself, Red's going to need to be inside of Stripes' head in order to trick him into thinking that she really is a witch. If Red does it right, he shouldn't even be able to tell that it's Red doin' the majority of the thinking when he asks her a question and everything. He shouldn't be able to tell that there's two people there instead. And if Stripes absorbs a witch or wizard before every time she might see the dark guy, then she'll be able to pass for a witch."

"But You-Know-Who is very skilled at Occlumency," said Molly in worry. "Don't you think he'd be able to see right through that?"

"If he can see through the Phoenix Force, then he deserves to discover the truth," said Scott with a slightly somber expression. "Give Jean some credit; she's more powerful than you know."

Jean gave her boyfriend a dazzling smile at his words of praise, while Rogue pretended to gag, sticking her finger down her throat in revulsion. Logan gave her a warning look before returning to the conversation at hand.

"But…we can't just have somebody show up in front of this guy and say that she wants to join up," he added with a frown. "That's where you come in," he said with a nod towards the Order members present in the room.

"The only person we know that has any ties with even the Death Eaters is Snape," said Sirius grimly. "He's the only person that'd be able to present her without Voldemort becoming suspicious," he added, though there was a noticeable tone of distaste in his voice as he spoke. It was obvious that he did not like the idea of having to ask Snape for help with anything.

"Then we'll talk to him," said Logan with a nod and a grin. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"But we won't be getting anywhere else tonight," said Remy with a slight yawn. "Remy don't know 'bout de rest a' you, but he's gonna get some sleep 'fore he falls down…"

"Good idea," said Scott in agreement. "We'll want to be completely awake for tomorrow if we're going to do this."

"And you _do_ want to do this, right?" asked Logan quietly as they began walking towards the door. He had directed this question to Rogue who, although she still looked very sure of herself, was also looking a little paler than usual. She nodded hastily, and forced a smile upon her face.

"Yeah…" she said surely as Remy paused next to her, listening to the conversation in slight concern. "Yeah, Ah do. If it helps find Rahne, then Ah can do this, Ah swear it."

"_Chere_, you don't sound too excited 'bout dis," said Remy uneasily. "You sure you wanna do dis'?"

"Ah already said Ah do," said Rogue in slight annoyance. "Ah'm not backin' out now!"

And with that, she sighed angrily and stalked past both Remy and Logan. She left them alone in the kitchen, both looking after her retreating for with uneasy expressions to be seen upon their faces.

"She don' wanna do dis," said Remy in a shaky sort of voice. In his opinion, if Rogue didn't want to do something, then she shouldn't force herself to do it anyways…

"Yeah, but now we'll never talk her out of it," replied Logan grimly as he started out of the room as well. "The best we can do now is to hope that this plan of ours works…"

XXXXXXXX

"This is the most ridiculous plan I have ever heard of," said Severus Snape scornfully, looking around at the hopeful faces of those surrounding him as though he thought them all to be completely insane. In the newly-cleaned and spacious parlor room of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, he stood by the doorway, his arms crossed defiantly. Dumbledore and Lupin were the ones nearest to him, and Logan, Jean, and Rogue were standing behind them. It was the morning after the attack at Hogwarts. After Dumbledore had heard of the plan that the mutants had cooked up, it had been Severus Snape that he had called upon that Saturday morning.

"It actually could work, Severus," said Dumbledore evenly. "If Miss. Grey here manages to hide the truth from Voldemort when Miss…er…Rogue is questioned, then he should be none-the-wiser."

"The Dark Lord is an expert at Occlumency," said Snape, narrowing his eyes. "And while I mean _little_ offense to these mutants here, it is laughable to think that he will not realize something is amiss when this woman cannot even perform a spell," he said, looking to Rogue as he did.

"Her mutant powers will take care of that," said Remus earnestly, a sort of hope to seen inside of his eyes that had not actually been seen in a long while. "She can absorb magic in small doses from others, and we have volunteers to keep her well-supplied for a short while. The only thing we need is for you to take her to the Death Eaters and introduce her to them so they will not be suspicious!"

"Which they will be, regardless," muttered Severus Darkly. It was a little insulting to him, that it would be insisted upon that he help _another_ person turn spy against the Dark Lord…

"This is the best chance we got of findin' out where Rahne is," said Logan, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked upon Snape. Logan didn't much care for the scent that the potions master was giving off; he smelled of strange herbs and substances that he couldn't even place. He knew of the man's profession as a teacher and the way he used many different substances in his potions, but it was starting to give Logan a headache.

"Please, Severus," said Remus with a small sigh. "He's right. It's the best we can do now and…we just want to find her."

Snape gritted his teeth slightly at his statement, but seemed unable to find the right words to express his distaste for the assignment that he had put upon. Something about the complete hopelessness to now be heard in Lupin's voice just wouldn't let him say no. Snape was sure he would be regretting his decision later.

"Fine…" he said shortly, uncrossing his arms and directing his gaze to Dumbledore now, forcing himself to ignore the suddenly jubilant expression upon Lupin's face. "But you'll need to do something about her," he added, casting a surly glance to Rogue, looking at her leather skirt, green tights, tank top, see-through top, gothic jewelry and makeup and combat boots in distaste. "I daresay she'll need to dress more…subtly."

"What's wrong with my clothes?" asked Rogue, suddenly indignant and with her hands on her hips.

"No offense Stripes, but he's got a point," said Logan in amusement. "If you're going to play the part of a witch, you're going to need to dress like one."

"Ah am _not_ wearing robes!"

"Then I am not going to be taking you to the Dark Lord anytime soon," said Snape coldly. Rogue glared at him because of his words, with was an expression that he held with her until, finally, she suddenly sighed and threw her hands up in the air.

"Whatever," she mumbled, looking to the far wall with a disgruntled expression on her face. Dumbledore actually smiled, looking between them.

"Good. Now that that is settled, we need to prepare for tonight. I assume that tonight is fine?" he asked, looking to Logan with a raised eyebrow. "It is more sensible for Severus, as there is no school for him to teach today."

"That all right with you?" asked Logan, glancing to Rogue and Jean, both of whom seemed a little pale, but willing.

"I'll be ready," said Jean surely, forcing another smile upon her face. Rogue shrugged and looked up to Logan with a sigh. It was easy to see that she was apprehensive about what she was about to do, and so was he, but he could also see the determination in her eyes. She wasn't going to give up on finding Rahne anytime soon.

"Yeah…Ah'll be ready too."


	17. A Rogue Apprentice

**A/N:** **YOU MUST READ THIS BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER! **I have come to a sudden realization while looking over this chapter for posting: The dates for the Harry Potter series and the dates I have in mind for X-men: Evolution as well as this series do not quite match up . . . so which one should I go with . . .?

Well, it's going to be a hybrid of both:

The current year that the story takes place in: **1998**  
The year that Harry Potter was born: **1983** (His parents, Sirius, and Remus, according to the Harry Potter Lexicon, graduated around **1979** this date will remain the same.)  
The year Trelawny made her prediction & Snape overheard it: **1984**  
The year that Rahne Sinclair (Lupin) was born in: **1984**  
The year of Liona Lupin's death: **1985**

For the most part, the span of time is the same, but for purposes pertaining to the ages of the X-men (Rogue in particular) I needed to have the Harry Potter timeline be bumped forward three years. I've double checked with the chapters we have already written, and these dates do line up and make sense. If this bumping up of the dates really distresses you and makes you very upset, I apologize, but the technologies that the X-men have and there relative ages are more suited to the late 90's as opposed to the early/mid 90's.

Originally, I had Rogue say she was born in 1983 and I hadn't thought about tweaking the time line of the Harry Potter series. This would mean that Rogue would have been three years _younger_ than Harry, and in no way, shape, or form would she be old enough to do the task she has decided to undertake.

**A second note**: Since Jinxeh and I have taken the liberty of messing with the plot line of OotP so much already, we've decided to tweak it a bit more. There are some events in the novel that will be pushed up or moved around to suit our storytelling purposes. All the events of OotP will be included, just not in the sequence JKR had them in. Don't worry. You'll understand it all as you read the rest of the story.

But enough with the author notes, there's now a page of them in Microsoft Word format. I'm sure you all want to get right into the story. However, if you have any questions or see a glaring error that is probably not intentional please leave them in a review and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Enjoy!

_Alexis_

* * *

Chapter 17: A Rogue Apprentice

It was an hour before lunch that same Saturday and the Order was gathered around the dining table talking intensely. At first they had been discussing the bold and troublesome headline that had surfaced on the Daily Prophet that morning.

**PRISON BREAK FROM AZKABAN!**

The story accompanying it was a further weight on the Order's collective minds. When the situation had been explained to the X-men, they too were worried and astounded. How could they let something like that just . . . happen? Were there no guards? What about security? The wizards explained to the mutants what Azkaban was like, and the descriptions sent chills down their spines; especially Sirius' recollections of it. The way his normally jovial face darkened as he described the twelve years he spent in that hellhole terrified and shook the mutants down to their core.

"So dese people," Remy asked looking at the moving script of the newspaper, "De Lestranges, Rookwood, Dolohov, an' de ot'ers dey be very bad, _non_?"

"They are quite possibly the worst of the worst," Severus elaborated for the mutants, "These ten were some of the most infamous inmates of that prison, aside from Black over there." Sirius growled at the potions master.

"These ten are not to be dealt with lightly," Dumbledore cautioned with a darkened face as he looked at Rogue meaningfully, "You must be on your guard Rogue. For these people are ruthless and now that they have rejoined their master they will return to their old ways. This changes the situation a bit from when you first volunteered. If you wish to back out, this is your last opportunity." Silence had reigned over the kitchen as Rogue weighed her choices. In the end, there was only one option for her.

"Ah'm goin' t'do it," she said firmly and resolutely, "In mah mind this changes nothin'. Rahne's still caught, and Ah'm goin' ta do mah best gettin' her out." Dumbledore nodded grimly, but there was a glimmer of respect in his eyes.

"Then we need to get to work," he said conjuring up some parchment and a quill.

They then spent the next few hours of the morning putting a story for Rogue together to tell the Voldemort. They established Rogue's origins, various talents, her strengths, her weaknesses, and they were currently discussing a fake bloodline.

"You are obviously not going to be able to go by Rogue," Snape explained to Rogue calmly, "Voldemort is obsessed with bloodlines and he will probably want documentation of some sort, which will be the difficult part. Your only salvation is that there are several pureblood lines that all packed up and headed to the colonies when they were first established. Now for a name . . ."

"Anna Marie D'Ancanto," Rogue replied instantly without thinking about it. Needless to say she startled the other mutants with this declaration.

"Where did that come from?" Logan asked confused. Rogue shrugged.

"Its mah real name," she explained looking at the others, "Ah've known it ever since Ah absorbed Mystique. She had a lot of messed up stuff in her head, but one thing Ah got besides the truth about her was mah real name. Rogue was the name she had Irene give meh. We may be ahble ta use it fer this now since nobody back home knows 'bout it."

"D'Ancanto," Sirius muttered, "Albus, didn't that line die out a couple decades ago? The last son was a squib." Dumbledore furrowed his brow.

"Maybe," Albus replied fingering his beard, "They are a prominent Italian line, but part of the younger generation went to America in the 1800's. The branch in Italy still thrives, but no one really knows what happened to the American line . . . Sirius could you look that up in one of the volumes of your mothers?" Sirius nodded and left the kitchen and returned a few moments later carrying a large, leather bound book.

"Dabbs, Dafoe, Daggin," Sirius muttered as he flipped through the ancient parchment pages, "Ah here it is D'Ancanto. The line originated in Italy, blah, blah, blah. The second eldest son, Giovanni, and the youngest son, Viggo, both moved to the United States in 1805. Giovanni died in a duel in 1819 and his wife married Viggo. They had a pack of brats, three girls and one boy, Biagio. Biagio married a pureblood, obviously, in 1850, had a daughter, Adriana, and a son, Leonardo. Leonardo married in 1894, had two sons, Michelangelo and Anthony. Michelangelo died while attending school, but Anthony continued living. He married in 1928 and had only one son, Maurizio, who was a squib, in 1954. And that's the last entry, signaling the end of the line. What year were you born Rogue?"

"1980," Rogue replied doing the math in her head along with everyone else in the room.

"It works out," Dumbledore's eyes lit up as he turned to Rogue, "Congratulations. You have just become the heir to American bloodline of the D'Ancanto family." Rogue rolled her eyes.

"Thanks," she replied unenthusiastically causing Snape to crack a wry smile.

"So from the beginning," the head of Slytherin house prompted. Rogue took a deep breath.

"Mah name is Anna Marie D'Ancanto," she began slowly, "Ah'm from Birmingham, Alabama, but Ah attended the Salem Academy fer Higher Magical Education in Massachusetts fer all seven years of mah education. Ah'm in the process of becomin' a Potions Master, but Ah'm not attendin' a university ta do so. Ah've been through several independent apprenticeships with the best potions masters in America . . ."

"Including?" Snape asked with his arms crossed.

"Merric Pothecary and Gregory Sturgis," Rogue replied, "but as good as they were in America they were too modern. The only true way to become a potions master is ta apprentice in England where the more traditional arts of potion brewin' are still practiced. Severus Snape was mentioned by both Merric and Gregory as being one of the best potions masters in England and Ah requested to apprentice under him." Rogue turned to look at Snape signaling that it was his part of the explanation.

"At first," he began smoothly picking up where Rogue left off, "I was reluctant to accept her request because of my busy schedule with classes and spying on Dumbledore for the Dark Lord. She then sent a second letter expressing her adamant nature for apprenticing under me and her interest in the Dark Arts. I met with her and using my Occlumency I could see that she could be of use, I decided to take you on after the start of the school and we just finished filling out the paperwork for the ministry and this is the first chance I've had to present you to him."

"That's it," Rogue said sitting back in her chair. Snape nodded but his brow was furrowed.

"Almost," Snape replied as the other mutants and wizards looked on, "He'll want to see a demonstrating of you ability at the Dark Arts and at Potions." Rogue winced.

"Where am Ah gonna get that information?" She asked holding her head in her hands. Snape sighed in frustration.

"There's only one place I know of," he extended his hand and glared at Rogue. That glare conveyed so many different things. Rogue could tell that she would be getting some very _personal_ if not highly secret memories and thoughts. Rogue also knew that Snape did not have to do it and the fact that he did so spoke volumes to her. She slid off her right glove and gently brushed her hand against his. He shuttered, but he did not pass out, his will was too strong, stronger than even Logan's.

Rogue's mind was instantly bombarded with information and memories. She remembered a fascination with the Dark Arts and potions from a young age. She remembered being accepted to Hogwarts which had overjoyed her mother. There were memories of a younger version of Sirius and Remus along with two other boys, James and Peter, Rahne's kidnapper, causing her nothing but grief . . . there were other memories too, more violent and frightening memories, but she pushed those to the back of her mind and focused solely on the information Snape had passed through the brief touch.

She was astounded by his knowledge of potions and the various ingredients and what they can do in a potion. She was also amazed by his knowledge of the Dark Arts, but the memories attached to those confused her slightly. She had memories of Dumbledore coming to him and helping him get a grasp on Occulmency which confused her greatly. And then it all clicked.

Snape had been a spy for a majority of the time he had been a Death Eater.

Rogue looked at the cold and severe Potions Master in a new light. He had been risking his life for a long time and he had always been loyal to Dumbledore and would continue to do so even if it meant his death. Searching through the memories, she could see that he pushed his students to be the best, he really didn't play favorites, but he pushed all of his students even if it wasn't openly. She was even surprised to find that he had a strange type of admiration towards Harry Potter that he masked with hatred not only for Harry's sake, but for his as well.

Rogue looked Snape in the eyes and knew that she could completely trust him and she would be sure that he could trust her as well. She nodded at him.

"Ask meh anything," she said looking at him dead on.

"Draught of the Living Dead," Snape stated flatly.

"The basic ingredients are asphodel in an infusion of wormwood; valerian roots, sopophorous beans," Rogue said without breaking a sweat, "The most effective way for getting the juice from the beans it ta squeeze the juice outta them using the flat edge of a silver dagger. Aftah every seventh countah-clockwise stir ya should stir it once clockwise. Halfway it'll be a deep purple color, but in the last stage it'll be a lahght blue color." Snape nodded with a smile.

"What are the primary ingredients of a Wolfsbane Potion, and in what order should they be put into the mixture?" Rogue thought about it for a moment.

"Diluted aconite, syrup of hellebore, valerian leaves, and lacewing flies," Rogue replied with a smug smile. Snape nodded once again.

"How do you prepare a Polyjuice potion?"

"Stew lacewing flies for twenty-one days, on the tenth day add leeches, powdered bicorn horn, and knotgrass. On the twenty-first day fluxweed that has been picked at the full moon and shredded boomslang skin. Right before drinking, add the bit of the person ya desire to transform inta," Rogue replied smoothly. Snape seemed to be satisfied.

"I would venture to guess that your knowledge of potions making is equal to mine now," Snape replied looking at the girl for a moment before looking at Dumbledore, "Albus, she will be staying at the school correct?" Dumbledore nodded. "Good, then perhaps I'll allow you to teach the first years . . ."

"Rahght," Rogue snorted and rolled her eyes, "So now Ah'm endowed with an overwhelmin' amount of potions knowledge and Dark Arts knowledge, what next?" Dumbledore conjured up a set of black dress robes.

"Now, Anna Marie," he said with a glimmer in his eyes, "you must look the part. Then we shall see about getting you a wand of some sort." Rogue groaned and snatched the clothes from the elder man and grumbled as she marched up the steps. Snape turned to Dumbledore and sighed.

"I can't believe I'm helping with this," he sighed holding his head in his hands, "I have a feeling this is all going to go horribly wrong . . ."

"That reminds me," Jean said speaking up for the first time since that morning drawing the entire kitchen's attention to her, "I was hoping to establish a telepathic connection with you as well as a means of communication and in case you needed assistance keeping Voldemort out . . ." Snape started to laugh.

"I appreciate your concern," Snape sneered, "but I assure you that I need no assistance in that area. I've been able to keep Voldemort out of my thoughts since before you were born when I spied the first time around."

"But as a means of communication . . ." Jean attempted again but Snape held up his hand.

"No," he said, "You will be in contact with Anna Marie and that will be enough. Voldemort knows my mind and he will be able to sense if anything is different. He does not know Anna Marie's mind so your presence won't be as noticed . . ."

"That is if he can get past Stripes' mental shields," Logan put in rubbing the stubble that had been coming in for the past few days, "Without Red helping, her mental shields are impressive on their own. She has to deal with all those psyches and keep them under control," Logan turned to Jean, "You have to make sure that they stay under wraps and heavily guarded. If he can sense them, he'll know something ain't right with her." Jean nodded.

"It shouldn't be a problem if I keep an ongoing rapport open between Rogue's mind and mine," she replied.

"Gawd, Ah feel so stupid," Rogue growled as she came back into the kitchen. The mutants and wizards could only stare at her in amazement. The black robes clung to her flatteringly. The skirt flared out slightly from the bottom of the lace up corset like top and the slightly swooping neckline exposed her shoulders and allowed the long sleeves to cling tightly to her upper arms before flaring out at the elbows as she adjusted her black gloves and the black cloak that was draped over her shoulders.

The most startling change had been her face. Gone was the pale gothic make-up, and in its place nothing. Her skin, although not shockingly white as it had been with the make-up, was still pale, but with some creamy color. Her green eyes were narrowed and were no longer surrounded by dark purple eye make up and her lips were a pale pink color. Her white bangs seem even more contrasting with her new mellower look.

"_Dieu_," Remy gaped openly, "Rogue is dat you?" Rogue crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Of course its meh, Swamp Rat," Rogue said tersely, "Who else would it be?" Snape looked at her critically.

"I suppose it will have to do," he said tersely with a wry smile.

"It had better," Rogue glared at him, "Anything else?" Dumbledore held out a thin slender box to her.

"Your wand," Dumbledore said, "Ollivander made it to certain specifications and it should work."

"Should?" Rogue said suspiciously as she twirled it idly before she grasped it properly and pointed it towards a stack of dishes, "_wingardium leviosa_." The dishes began to float and Rogue raised them higher before setting them back down.

"Is your connection established?" Dumbledore asked looking between Rogue and Jean. Jean nodded.

"I can tap into the psyche of myself inside Rogue's mind and open rapport that way," Jean replied. Dumbledore nodded and pulled out a pocket watch and looked at it.

"Excellent," he said with a smile as he snapped it shut, "We're done just in time for lunch and for Anna Marie to make her first appearance at Hogwarts. There will be clothing and things waiting for you there, I suggest we get going. Severus, apparate with Rogue to the Hogsmeade station and take a carriage up from there. I will see you in the Great Hall."

"What about the students who have already met Rogue?" Severus asked suddenly. Dumbledore merely smiled.

"Minerva has already spoken with the Weasleys, Miss Granger, and Mister Potter and they know not to say anything about her presence or prior knowledge of her identity." Snape nodded and extended his arm to Rogue who took it. The three then vanished in a loud _CRACK_.

XXXXXXXX

"There are a few things I would like to address before you arrive at Hogwarts," Snape said tersely as the carriage started to roll forward. Rogue nodded silently as she took in the sight of the huge castle.

"Whatevah ya say, sugah," she said making her accent thicker. Snape bristled.

"You will refer to me as either Professor Snape or Severus. It matters not to me," he instructed coldly, "Secondly, for appearance's sake, you must appear to be cold, strict, and calculating. Being a woman you should have no real problem with that . . ." Rogue glared at him momentarily, "Because you will be playing the part, you must seem to favor the Slytherin House. There are many students in my house that have parents that are Death Eaters, and they will be watching you closely. Do not give them any reason to doubt your loyalty, because they will tell their parents who will, in turn, tell Voldemort. The more often you can single out and humiliate students from other houses the better . . ."

"Ya really hate doin' that though," Rogue muttered softly as she continued to stare out the window. Snape sighed tiredly.

"True as that may be, I have to for not only my sake, but for Dumbledore's. He needs a spy deep inside the Death Eaters," Snape replied, "It's my job. I owe him a great deal and I'm not going to let him down."

"Ah know," Rogue said as she absently tapped her temple, "Ah have ya up here, remember?" The comment and the way she said it made Snape shudder. He couldn't imagine having the remnants of every person he had ever touched trapped in his mind. He was fairly certain it would have driven him insane, so he admired her for that strength. He watched her critically as she messed with her gloves.

"Let me see those," he commanded gesturing to the gloves. Warily Rogue pulled them off and handed them to the Potions Master.

"_Illusius_," he said tapping the gloves with his wand. Rogue watched as they faded into nothingness. She was about to protest when he tossed them back to her. She caught the now invisible gloves and stared at the curiously before pulling them on. Her hands were protected but it looked as though she didn't have gloves on.

"A disillusionment charm," she smiled looking up at him. He nodded.

"I figured that you wearing gloves all the time would arouse suspicion."

The carriage pulled to a stop at the front steps and Snape opened the door and leapt down before extending a hand to help Rogue down. She landed with a slight stumble as she tripped over the hem of her robes and cursed under her breath. Snape chuckled before going up the steps with his robes billowing in his wake leaving Rogue to play catch up. When she did, she noticed the hardened scowl he had set into place and realized that he had put his cold, cruel mask on. She adopted her own mask of with her own patented glare that would always send the Newbies running for the hills.

With their masks firmly in place the Potions Master and his new apprentice stalked into the Great Hall. Rogue could instantly feel everyone's eyes turn to stare at her as she walked behind Snape towards the faculty table, but she ignored them and the whispers. She hid her amazement at seeing the ghosts and enchanted ceiling. She looked back at the staff table where Dumbledore was already seated. Rogue had to admit he was a good actor; he was looking at her critically like he had never seen her before as he rose from his chair.

"Severus," Dumbledore addressed the resident Potions Master, "who is this young lady?"

"Anna Marie D'Ancanto, Headmaster," Snape replied, "You remember, I spoke to you about her becoming my apprentice." The hall erupted into whispers and talking and Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"Yes, I remember," Dumbledore said extending his hand to Rogue, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Miss D'Ancanto. Welcome to Hogwarts." Rogue thought she saw Dumbledore wink, but it had happened so fast she wasn't sure if she had imagined it.

"The pleasure is all mahne, Professah Dumbledore," she replied shaking his hand and laying the accent on thick. When they released hands a woman bearing a striking resemblance to a toad sauntered up glaring at Dumbledore, Snape, and Rogue.

"What is going on here?" She demanded coldly, "How is it that I had not been informed that Professor Snape would be taking on an apprentice?" At that moment an official looking owl flew in and dropped a roll of parchment at the woman's feet before flying out again. Dumbledore smiled as she knelt to pick it up.

"I believe that is the notification, Delores," the elder wizard replied before turning back to Snape and Rogue, "Now do you still intend on having Miss D'Ancanto teaching the first and second years?"

"I feel that she is capable of doing it," Snape replied with the wave of his hand. Rogue rolled her eyes.

"It should be no problem at all," she said smugly with a smile. Dumbledore nodded before looking out at the students.

"Students," Dumbledore called and the hall fell into silence, "for those of you who haven't been eavesdropping in on the conversation up here, this is Miss Anna Marie D'Ancanto. She has signed on to be an apprentice under Professor Snape in order to earn her title of Potions Master. In addition to observing his classes and studying under him, she will be teaching the first and second years in Potions." There was a cheer from the aforementioned years and Rogue shot them a very cold and calculating glare that stopped the cheers immediately. Dumbledore conjured up another chair next to Snape's and they were all seated. Once everyone seemed to be preoccupied with their meal Rogue leaned in towards Snape and asked him with a low voice:

"How do ya get yer robes ta billow lahke that?"

Severus forced back a smile.

"Practice, Anna Marie," he replied quietly, "lots and lots of practice."

XXXXXXXXX

"My Lord, a message for you . . ." Voldemort extended his hand as the servant in black robes handed him the roll of parchment. He unfurled it and looked at the blank page. Undaunted he waved his hand and words began to bubble up on the paper. The Dark Lord's vibrant red eyes scanned over the note and a smile appeared on his face.

"My Lord? What is it?" Voldemort chuckled softly and the sound steadily grew louder. The servant stared at him in shock and amazement. "My Lord . . .?"

"I never thought I'd see the day when Severus _willingly_ took on an apprentice . . ."

"Snape has taken on an apprentice? Can she be trusted? Can he sway her to our side?" Voldemort's laughter only grew louder at the servant's worry.

"Do you think Snape would have taken her on if she couldn't be trusted?" Voldemort demanded to know, "Severus is no fool. From what he writes she had been into the Dark Arts heavily in America, so it is no matter. Besides, he has requested an audience to present her to me tonight."

"Doesn't this seem a bit curious and sudden that . . ." Whatever the servant had been thinking was immediately drowned out by his screams as Voldemort cursed him.

"Don't be a fool," Voldemort snarled as the man continued to writhe and squirm on the ground, "Severus has already explained it all in this letter. I will see that it is the truth when he arrives with his protégé tonight." Voldemort lifted the spell from him and the man gasped for breath. The man attempted to sputter something out, but was interrupted by a three loud knocks on the chamber doors. "Enter!"

The doors swung open to reveal Lucius Malfoy striding into the Dark Lord's inner chamber. His brow was furrowed and he held a rolled parchment in one hand. He came to the foot of the Dark Lord's elevated throne and bowed curtly. He then extended the parchment to him.

"My Lord, I don't know if you are aware of this," Lucius began in his usually tone, "but it appears Severus has taken on an apprentice . . ."

"Yes, I just received a letter from him moments before you arrived," Voldemort returned the missive to him without looking at it, "He shall be presenting her to me this evening. I want you to be there. Also invite Bellatrix and Rodolphus but no others . . ."

"Leaving me out of the fun? I'm disappointed." A gruff voice sounded from the door. All three in the room turned to the new speaker.

"Ah, well, Fenrir," Voldemort said in disgustingly sweet tones, "after your 'daughter's' failure to kill the Granger girl, I dare say you have fallen out of favor . . ." Fenrir scoffed.

"Well then, I suppose I'll pull my influence from the girl and allow her to return to her father," Fenrir said with grim smile, "and I'll just happen to forget to wipe her memory. She'll have full knowledge of the location of your hide out and all its inner workings . . ."

"You know very well, Fenrir, that I don't respond to threats," Voldemort snarled looking down at the man and raising his wand threateningly.

"Oh, I know that very well, My Lord," Fenrir said chuckling with a growl, "but this is a promise. Just remember, you need me about as much as I need you." Voldemort seemed to consider this for a moment before pointing his wand at Fenrir.

"You are wrong," Voldemort said coldly, "I do not need you at all. I can always get another werewolf to do my bidding amongst your kind. You just happen to be the easiest route to influencing them to join my cause," Fenrir growled low in his throat. He hated not having control over a situation, "And for that reason I shall allow you to continue living and serving under me."

"Very well, My Lord," Fenrir said unwillingly, he knew that he had been beat.

"However, I shall allow you to be present for the presentation of Snape's new apprentice," Voldemort said directly to him before addressing both him and Lucius, "He arrives at seven sharp. Do not be late or it will be your heads."

* * *

**One final note:** My first semester is winding down which means I get to go home for the holiday. Once again the problem of my files being on a computer far away from me is looming before me and causing me to panic a bit. I'll send the chapters to myself, but I cannot promise a weekly update. My apologies! 


	18. Spy Games

**A note from Jinxeh:** Hi! I feel left out because I never get to say anything in the head notes…so here I am! (takes notice of the blanks stares she is receiving) Oh fine…just go and read your story. I hope you're enjoying it! And now, without further ado, here's Alexis Ravenlockes! (bows away)

**A/N 2:**Thanks Jinkxeh . . . Alexis here with another chapter of the captivating Legacy of Lupin. This chapter was (of course) written by Jinxeh and she did a wonderful job of it too. Sorry this chapter is a few days late, but I did find a way to transfer it (thank goodness for the marvels of Google Mail and its massive storage). The next chapter will be up sometime next week. Unfortunately,Chapter 19the last of the chapters that we've had written ahead of time, so it could be another week or so before you guys get that update.

Thanks for all the fantastic reviews (we're nearly at 200!) and keep it up.

Enjoy and I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season thus far!

Alexis

* * *

Chapter 18: Spy Games

"Anyone else notice that she seems to have gone native?" whispered Ron with a slight grin as he watched Rogue take her place at the staff table as the dinner went on as usual. Only a few of the students were still looking up at the table, most of them being the first and second years that seemed to be completely and utterly terrified of their newfound teacher.

"I suppose she has to act the part in order to fool some of the students," said Harry quietly, reaching for a flagon of pumpkin juice that was on the table in front of him. "If Draco Malfoy, for example, noticed that she was nice to most, he could report that to his parents, who would tell their suspicions to the other Death Eaters. It's simpler for her to act like Professor Snape."

"She pulled off the scowl pretty well…" said Ron darkly, looking forlornly to the empty seat beside Harry, to where Hermione would have sat if she had been allowed to leave the Hospital Wing just yet. Madame Pomfrey was making her stay another day, for concern that her wounds have not had the proper time to heal just yet. "Wish Hermione could have been here to see that."

"What do you think they're trying to do, though?" asked Harry interestedly, looking up to the table to where Rogue sat, right next to Professor Snape. Snape was continuing on with his dinner like usual, curtly answering the small questions that Rogue was asking him as though it were nothing special at all. Harry noticed that although the young mutant woman was trying to keep up her surly and darkened façade, her eyes were darting every which way around the Great Hall, taking in as much as she could without trying to be obvious.

Harry figured it had to be hard for her, to be sitting in a place like Hogwarts for the very first time, only to have to act like she had done it before a million times. She was like a first year, bursting to look around at everything but holding herself back as she tried to stay professional.

"I don't know…" said Ron with a small shrug, his mouth filled with mashed potatoes. Lavender Brown gave him a rather disgusted glance from across the table because of this, which he ignored for the most part. "Didn't McGonagall say that they were putting a spy in the Death Eaters?"

"Oh!" said Harry, instantly embarrassed that he hadn't thought about that before. But when Professor McGonagall had spoken to them about it, he hadn't figured that it would be this soon. But then again…they probably wanted to find Rahne as soon as possible, so it did make sense that they would send Rogue in as soon as possible as well… "Yeah, I guess. That explains why she's acting like that, at least…but I really don't pity her being stuck with _Snape_, of all people…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Ah thought that that meal'd never end," muttered Rogue darkly, following behind Severus Snape later that night as they made their way down one of the darkened corridors in an upstairs hallway of the castle. The lunch had ended, the students and teachers had dispersed…but still, Rogue was nervous. She had never been in an actual castle before, and nor had she been in one that was magical, of course…

She had to stop herself from staring at the portraits that they passed as they walked, trying to remind herself that even if the painting on the stone walls did move, she had to act like she was used to such things. The ways that the suits of armor creaked when she passed them…the feeling that she was always being watched as they passed various doors leading into rooms that she could not see into…the whole place was rather creepy, and yet she still found herself absolutely enthralled by it.

And at the same time, even though it was all relatively new to her, it was also very…familiar. As she walked directly behind the potion's master, she was able to remember being Severus Snape as a fifth year, walking along that same corridor, her/his nose buried in a book…and she remembered being Nymphadora Tonks in her third year, getting lost and finding herself in that same corridor as she tried to figure out in what direction she could go…

It was rather confusing to her. She could remember specific details about the castle; about how the Quidditch pitch was on the south side of the grounds, and what game was played there on broomsticks, and how…she could easily figure out the quickest ways of making her way through the castle in order to get from one place to another…and yet at the same time, every time she turned a corner right behind the man that was supposed to be her 'mentor' of sorts she saw something new and unexpected, and it always managed to take her breath away.

Finally they arrived in a very long corridor, with heavy wooden doors stationed every ten feet on either side of the hallway itself. Compared to the other corridors, this one was barren of portraits and suits of armor, although there was a tapestry woven with the Hogwarts coat of arms hanging in the middle of the hallway a little ways down from them.

"Your living quarters will correspond with my own," said Severus with a knowing frown as he pointed his wand to the brass door handle of his door and muttered something under his breath. Ignoring the suddenly wary look that she was giving him, he walked in as the door swung open with her right at his heels. "It is a long-going tradition between mentors and apprentices. It is not one that is necessarily well-liked by many…but tradition it is nonetheless."

"We gotta live together?" asked Rogue uncertainly as she followed him inside. She had to admit, the living quarters on it's own was nice; currently she and the potion's master stood in the center of a handsome, if not rather dark room; the brick walls were adorned with gruesome paintings of magical and historical happenings, in addition to many a tapestry. Any area of the walls that were not occupied with said objects had a bookcase standing in front of it. There had to have been a dozen of them, at least, each filled from top to bottom with various leather-bound books. There was a sofa and two armchairs in front of a cold and unlit fireplace at the very end of the room, and on either side of it there was a door, both closed. There were no windows in the entirety of the room, which was something that she found to be rather discomforting.

"Somewhat," said Snape with a sigh, and then glancing to the door on the left of the fireplace. "I see that Albus has already made the arrangements, as that door was not here this morning. Both Dumbledore and I thought it would be rather…ah…inappropriate, to say the least, no matter if it is expected by tradition. You have to understand that normally both apprentice and mentor were of the same gender. Your quarters are behind _that_ door," he said, pointing. "It will appear to anyone outside, who may be watching from the corridor that we are sharing living arrangements, but you have your own living area behind that door. Better?" he asked with a wry smile as she crossed the room and nudged the door open, then glancing inside. As soon as she did, she let out a gasp and opened the door further, stepping inside.

She would never have expected to see another sitting room much like the one she had just come in from if she had no known any better, but by now she did. It was just a bit brighter than the one that Severus had; there was a lit fire in the grate across the room, crackling merrily and casting a warm orange glow over the entirely of the room. The carpeting was dark maroon in color, and the furniture was just a shade lighter than that. There were many more tapestries (none of which moved, to her own relief) and no bookshelves in her living area, but that was fine with her. There was one door to the right of the fireplace.

Sifting through Severus' memories almost subconsciously, Rogue was instantly able to know that the door by the fireplace would lead her to her own bedroom, fully furnished with a four-poster bed, a dresser for her clothing (her trunk and belongings were already there, waiting for her) a nightstand, and a lavatory off to the side. There was one window to her living area, on the wall right to the fireplace. She was glad for that, at least.

"Wow…" said Rogue in slight amazement as Severus stepped in behind her, looking only mildly impressed with her new living arrangements. "How long did it take yah ta do _this_?"

"It most likely did not take Dumbledore long," said Snape coolly. "It's a fairly simple spell to make the rooms, and the furniture could have been easily conjured, as well as the tapestries and such…"

Even though he was trying to sound impassive as he said all of this, he was not fooling Rogue. She could hear the slight hint of admiration in his voice as he spoke of the elder professor, and at the same time she could feel the same thing inside of herself as he came forth in her mind again. Rather than try to push him away inside, she allowed for him to come forwards just a little bit, curious about how exactly it was that he thought of Professor Dumbledore. What she did find was surprising, to say the least, but for someone like him it was understandable.

"Wow…" she said quietly, looking over her shoulder at him to find he was looking anywhere but at her. "You really respect him, huh? I can tell yah' don't really like too many people, all in all, but him…he's like a…father or something to you…"

"I wouldn't go that far," said Severus, though he sounded tired when he did. "But you are correct; I do respect him."

"A lot," added Rogue, turning around fully, "Ah don't mean to pry, but as you're already in mah' head Ah can't help but pick up on it…ya never really respected someone like him before. S'like what tha most a' us feel 'bout Xavier, in a way…ya'd pretty much do anything for this old guy, huh?"

"I would lay down my life at his feet for him," said Severus, a hint of coldness in his voice. But still…his weariness was creeping up on him. He knew he was admitting things to this young woman that he normally wouldn't to anything…but as much as he didn't like it, she pretty much already knew anyways… "He has that sometimes unfortunate affect on people, I am afraid. He gives chances to those that deserve none at all…"

"Like you," finished Rogue, crossing her arms and looking at him skeptically. "Yeah…Ah know what ya mean, I guess."

"I can't possible see how that is so," said Severus coldly. Before he could even add more, she had raised a hand, silencing him. He was so surprised at this, as no one had ever done such a thing to him before, that he didn't even try to stop her from talking.

"Look…Ah know what it's lahke ta' be comin' from the 'bad guy' side and all," she said with a small shrug, ignoring the look of skepticism that was crossing over his features. "As we say in America…it sucks. But Xavier gave me a chance an' all…and this Dumbledore guy gave you yours. It's understandable, and yah' don't gotta explain nothin' ta' me," she said with a small grimace. "'Sides…you're already speaking t'meh in here, and that's enough," she said, tapping the side of her head lightly with a couple of her fingers.

"Well then I see no need to further this conversation," said Severus tiredly. "A letter has been sent, and you and I shall meet with the Dark Lord later on tonight. I suggest you prepare yourself in any way you can…"

"Ah can't do much a' anything without the redhead in mah mind," said Rogue darkly. Even the _thought_ of having Jean in her mind was not one that she was particularly fond of. "Mind if Ah check out the castle 'til we gotta go?"

Severus hesitated for just a split second, his expression guarded and his eyes unsure as he looked at her uncertainly. At the same time, Rogue felt what seemed like a prickle of annoyance pass through her, no doubt coming from his own ego inside of her head. But that passed quickly, and soon Severus found himself nodding in spite of himself.

"Yes, but be cautious," he warned with a frown pasted onto his rather pale face. "If you run into any of the students, which is likely as this _is_ a school, do not let your expression or guard falter. And if you meet _any_ of the students you saw at the headquarters of the Order, then—"

"Ah'll act like I don't know 'em," said Rogue, rolling her eyes slightly. As she did, she had to resist the urge to grin at the bristle of annoyance that she once again felt surge through her. "No offense, _Professor_, but do yah take meh fer an idiot?"

"I'll not answer, to save myself the conflict," muttered Severus darkly, turning and walking out of the room as she suddenly looked affronted, her hands on her hips as she watched him walk away.

"Hey…"

XXXXXXXXX

Even though she still had the memories of the castle itself, Rogue found every twist and turn to be absolutely enthralling to her; she stopped in front of almost every painting that she passed in the hall, looking in wonder at the characters that were moving within. Many of the painting's occupants didn't take very well to this, and eventually many of them told her to 'sod off', which she took as a hint to keep walking.

When the familiarities of the castle came to her, Rogue usually tried to concentrate on the memories that were coming to her from Tonks, no matter of how her memories and thoughts were beginning to fade from her mind. Although she was no longer trying to pry, she could rarely find any truly happy memories of the castle as far as Severus Snape was concerned. It was obvious that he was rather fond of the castle, as it was more like a home to him than anything else ever had managed to be, but there were too many sour memories attached to that fondness for Rogue's comfort. She liked the happier memories of Tonks better; happy memories were much easier for her to handle.

When she found herself descending the marble staircase towards the Entrance Hall, she had to stop herself from smiling as she was suddenly granted the image of herself with Tonks, giggling with several of her friends as they all glanced over to a certain Charlie Weasley, who had just walked into the Entrance Hall with a small gaggle of his own friends…

Rogue shook her head, forcing herself to stay emotionless and calm on the outside, as there were still students milling about. The last thing she needed was to have any of the kids see her cracking a grin when there was nothing around to even remotely smile about…

To her surprise, she saw that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had just walked out of the Great Hall, and were heading towards her as she reached the bottom of the staircase. They looked rather odd in their school robes, as she had only seen them don their 'muggle' clothing at the headquarters. They both saw her, but luckily she was able to reach them and give them a warning _look_ before either of them could say anything to her to give away that they had already met. Several students around were already taking notice of her, curious about the apprentice that their potion's professor had taken on so recently.

"Uh…hi," said Ron, glancing uncertainly towards Harry, who shrugged in response. Almost instantly, Rogue felt the annoyance surge through her once more, testament to how Severus Snape would have been reacted if he had been greeted in such a way. And if she was supposed to act like him, then she was going to have to go by those feelings… "What's up?"

Ron knew that he had made a mistake as soon as he had spoken; her features suddenly were much more severe then they had been before, her eyes were suddenly dark and cold, and her jaw was clenched. She looked down her narrow nose at him coldly, rooting him to the spot with her eyes alone. Now the attention of most of the students was draw at this spectacle.

"Is that how yah greet yer superiahs an' instructahs?" she snapped, her accent growing thicker with every given syllable. "With a 'what's up'?"

"Er…well…" Ron stammered, his face growing almost as red as his hair as he became aware that everyone around him was looking at him now. Harry was fighting to keep a straight face, perhaps aware of what was going on with the woman that he and Ron had both met before. "I m-meant…er…"

"You're ta greet me as _Professah_, or _Miss D'Ancanto_," she snapped impatiently. "_Not_ 'what's up?' Do yah understand _that_?"

"Ah…er…yes…um…"

"Yes, _what_?"

"Yes, _Professor_…" said Ron, clearly in confusion as to why someone that her somewhat knew was acting like this to him. Then, when he finally did realize that she was doing it for the reasons that he and Harry had discussed before at lunch, he suddenly seemed a little more relieved, though still a bit frightened.

"Good," said Rogue between gritted teeth, glancing sideways to Harry next. The boy almost had to grin; he could swear that he had just seen the ghost of a wink in her eyes, before it was gone and they returned to being as cold as ice once more. She was pulling off her frigid façade rather well.

Rogue finally took notice of the fact that several of the students standing nearby were actually snickering softly to one another, perhaps enjoying seeing Ron being treated as such. It was to them she turned to next, but before she could say a word to them, she noticed the colors they were wearing. The green trims on their robes, the serpents on the crests of their badges, even the expressions on their faces…those were Slytherin students, no doubt. Her expression suddenly turned to one of rather cool smugness.

She knew the boy standing in the middle of the crowd just by looking at him. Snape knew him rather well, and so it was from his memories and feelings that she drew the information about him. With his slicked-back blonde hair, cold blue eyes…ah yes, Draco Malfoy…

"Ya're a Malfoy, aren't ya?" she asked with a subtle grin, looking the boy up and down. Pleased by her recognition of him, he quickly stepped forwards and nodded at her. "Ah thought so. Ah've heard a lot 'bout ya…'bout yer family, too…" she added as though it was a barely important afterthought. The boy's grin grew. "Huh…well, carry on, all a' yah," she said finally, waving a hand dismissively, brushing past the whole lot of them and making her way back towards the marble staircase without a second glance back towards them.

"Ah think Ah lahke this new instructah," said Draco with a meaningful grin towards Harry and Ron, putting on a fake southern accent. "Don't y'all?"

"Get lost, ferret," muttered Ron as he stalked past Malfoy, Harry right at his heels and still resisting the urge to start laughing.

XXXXXXXXX

"I'm connected to her mentally," said Jean calmly, her eyes closed and her hands folded and atop the wooden surface of the table in the cavernous kitchen of Grimmauld Place. There were not actually many in the kitchen then besides Jean; Remy was there, sitting opposite of her with a look of concern on his face; Logan sat next to him, his expression grim as he glared across the table at Cadence, who was sitting next to Jean. She had managed to get her way into this one, as she refused to leave the room before, but that didn't mean that Logan had to be happy about it.

Remus Lupin couldn't even sit; he was too nervous. He instead paced back and forth in front of the stove and sink that were located at the very end of the table, on the side of the room opposite to the doorway. His hands were wringing themselves together nervously, and his eyes were kept adamantly on the floor as he willed himself not to look up. Sirius sat in a chair before him, having refused to vacate the premises as well, as Cadence had. Dumbledore was the last member of the group, and he stood by the door, calmly watching Jean do her work.

"She and Professor Snape are preparing to leave Hogwarts," said Jean after a moment, finally opening her eyes as she gazed across the table to Logan. "They'll be there momentarily…"

XXXXXXXXXX

'_Don't go proddin' into my memories,_' thought Rogue grimly as she and Severus Snape walked side-by-side down the 'driveway' of sorts towards the front gates that would lead them off of the school grounds. It was after dark now, and rather cold, so she had donned a long black cloak in accordance with the robes she had been wearing before. Behind them, many of the castle lights were twinkling merrily, making her wish she was back there instead. '_Not all a' them are mine, yah know…_'

-_You have nothing to worry about, Rogue_, - came Jean's voice in her head, sounding tired. _-I'm just here to protect your true memories, not delve even further into them. I've already informed the others that there's nothing inside of your head that will be of any use to us now…-_

Rogue fought against the urge to just roll her eyes at this comment. It was not because what Jean had said, but because she could just imagine that Remy would have had something smart to say about that. And, sure enough…

-_Yes…and Remy would like to pass along a sarcastic comment…-_

'_Tell Remy to take a long walk off a short pier,' _replied Rogue mentally as she and the Professor stopped just outside of the gates of Hogwarts and he turned towards her.

"Are you ready?" he asked seriously, as he put a hand on each of her shoulders. It was not a gesture of comfort; he was preparing himself for side-long apparation. She shrugged slightly, but then nodded as he settled his steely gaze upon her.

"Yeah…" she said, gulping only slightly. "Ah am…"

A moment later, both had disappeared with a hearty _CRACK_ from before the Hogwarts's gates.

XXXXXXXX

"Ah didn't think this whole thing would be so complicated…" grumbled Rogue, following right behind Snape as they made their way down a narrow hallway of the dilapidated old house that they had appeared in. The Dark Lord was taking no chances; Snape had been ordered to apparate with Rogue to a remote location in London, where they had been met by a man clothed in black and masked. Whoever it was, it was obviously a powerful wizard, for he had grabbed each of their arms and had used his own magic to apparate away with them. When they had appeared again, in front of an abandoned old house that not even Snape had seen before, the man had disappeared once more, leaving them there.

"He takes no chances," replied Severus sourly as they walked, keeping his eyes straight forwards. At the end of the hallway, he could see a sliver of orangey light under a door, so it was there that he was headed. "The Dark Lord will not tell someone he has not met before of his more residential locations. It seems he had this house found just for the purpose of meeting you tonight…"

"Ah'm _honored_," said Rogue sarcastically, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Before they had reached the door, Snape suddenly turned around and faced her, his expression livid and his eyes promising murder.

"That is exactly the sort of behavior that will get you _killed_!" he hissed in a furious whisper, taking her aback because of his sudden change of behavior. "I must warn you…when you are in _his_ presence, you _must not act as such_! Speak only when spoken too unless you are _greeting_ him, and be more _polite_ than you have _ever_ been before!"

"Okay, _okay_…" said Rogue in slight shock, nodding her head in quick agreement. She almost shuddering, thinking about how Jean was probably enjoying this at the moment… "Ah _get_ it…"

"You'd better," said Severus with a sigh. "For your own sake, at least…" he muttered, before turning around and knocking heavily at the door.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So when can we expect this apprentice of Snape's?" asked Rodolphus Lestrange interestedly, running a finger over the mantle of the fireplace in which there was a fire crackling merrily. When he took his hand away, it was covered with dust. The fire itself was the only thing that gave the room any cheer at all; despite its size, it was still dark, looking the part of having hardly ever been used.

His wife, Bellatrix, sighed as she sat on the edge of the ottoman beside the fireplace, checking her long black nails as though bored. Her long black hair, shiny and shimmering in the dim lighting, fell over her sallow features, going almost to the waist of her long black robes. She didn't seem to care much for the situation…because, really, she didn't. Lucius Malfoy seemed to share her opinion of the matter, as he stood by the heavily-curtained window, lifting back the edge of one and looking outside at the moonless, unlit night.

The only people in the room who didn't seem to be at all dreading of the situation occurring to them were the Dark Lord himself, and Fenrir Greyback. There was a long square table at the other end of the room, and it was behind that that the Dark Lord sat, his fingers steepled under his chin, his piercing red eyes staring towards the door as though expecting it to open at any moment. Fenrir Greyback stood off to the side in the corner of the room, half-bathed in shadows and with a wicked grin on his face. And there, lying in wolf form at his feet, her eyes closed but not asleep, was Vallerie, sometimes better known as Rahne.

A sudden knock on the door caused the small reddish-brown wolf to raise her head, making an almost dog-like whining sound as she looked up to her 'father' with hopeful eyes. In response, Fenrir looked to Voldemort for permission. The Dark Lord did not even look away from the door as he nodded his head. That was enough for Rahne, who was on her feet in human form and heading towards the door in an instant. Bellatrix and Rodolphus watched on in what could only have been a surprised sort of curiosity, though a wary one at that. Lucius retained his composure, though his intense dislike for the girl was easily seen in his facial expression.

XXXXXXXXX

It was even difficult for Severus to mask his surprise when the door was opened from the inside, only for him to be looking down at a scrawny little slip of a girl instead of another Death Eater, like he had first expected. However, he was intelligent enough to instantly be able to realize that he was looking down at Rahne Lupin. He was in the same year as the infamous 'Marauders', and so he also remembered Liona. The girl looked just like Liona had in their fourth year…

Well, if Liona had had blue-green eyes, torn and dirtied clothing, and dried blood and grime smeared all over her skin and hair, anyways…

Behind him, Severus heard the sharp intake of air from Rogue, but was grateful that she at least restrained from saying anything to the girl. Perhaps Jean was helping to stifle her…

"Enter," came the cold and calculating voice of the Dark Lord from within the room. Severus was quick to comply, first waiting for the girl to move out of the way (which she did before growling once sharply). Rogue followed him inside, her steps slightly jerky, but sure all the same. The door shut with a snap behind her, though she was successful in stopping herself from jumping because of it.

"M'lord," said Severus, stopping in the middle of the room and nodding his head just slightly. "I've brought my apprentice."

He did not offer any more in greeting, instead glancing over his shoulder and nodding for Rogue to step forwards. She did so, masking her nervousness and stopping beside Snape. She bowed low, almost dropping into a curtsy as Snape had before instructed her to do. She kept her head bowed as she spoke, feeling Jean do what she could to keep her calm as she did.

"M'lord," she said, forcing her accent as much as she dared. "It's such a honah' ta finally be in your presence…"

"Rise," said the Dark Lord coldly, getting up from his seat and walking around the table slowly, taking his sweet time. She did so, looking up at him with the same callous expression that she had taken on since she had first stepped into the room. Truthfully, she was fighting to not glance behind her towards the door. Towards Rahne…

Her mind was racing as he approached her. What was he going to do? Was this really going work? And _Rahne_! Whatever they had done to her, Rogue had never seen the girl like that before…and she hoped to never see her like that ever again. Rogue could still remember seeing Rahne for the last time since she had been taken, on that London street, frightened, but still the same Rahne that she had always known…

But when Rogue had looked into Rahne's eyes when she had passed her by the doorway…there had been nothing there that Rogue had recognized. There was nothing but rage in those eyes…unbelievable sadness…and yet such joy in what she was now doing…it was haunting, really.

"What is your name?" asked the Dark Lord coldly. Rogue tried not to stare at his red eyes, and pale white skin. It was easier than she had thought; after living with someone that was blue, fuzzy, and had a tail and yellow eyes, she could handle that quite easily.

"Anna Marie D'Ancanto, m'lord," she said with yet another slow bow. This time she did not stay in it, and she rose quickly, looking him in the eyes once more. She held his gaze, intent on not looking away, and not showing her fear. In her mind, she could feel Jean's restlessness.

"D'Ancanto…and an American obviously," repeated Rodolphus quietly from beside the fireplace. The Dark Lord's gaze swept over to him next. "I know that line…but I had thought they were gone by now…"

"Mah family has had many a generation come from tha' States," said Rogue quietly, glancing over to him with as much seriousness as she could. She was not oblivious to the looks that the woman sitting by the fire was giving her, after all. "Moved there _generations_ ago."

"I've heard of the D'Ancanto lineage," said the Dark Lord after a moment, his grim frown twisting in a cold smile. "A good family…a very pure-blooded family, as well…how interesting that you would find your way here, however. Tell me, D'Ancanto…is there any specific reason why you took an apprenticeship with _Professor_ Snape, here?"

"Of course, m'lord," said Rogue, trying to feign surprise. Apparently she succeeded at this as well (most likely thanks to Jean) for she saw no change in emotion in him. "I tried ta' study with a couple a' mah old professors back home, but their techniques are just so…contemporary. Ah couldn't get tha' true feel of potion-making with them, so Ah applied for Professor Snape ta' be mah mentor instead," she said, adding a smirk.

"I finally decided to accept her, my lord, when she expressed her interests in the dark arts," added Snape with a wry smile. "I thought she could be beneficial to our cause."

"That remains to be seen," said the Dark Lord, suddenly cold once more. "Tell me, girl…what are your experiences here?"

It took about five minutes for Rogue to get through everything she knew, and everything that she had 'done', which meant that she pulled many details from hat she knew of Severus, and twisted them around so they applied to her instead. By the time she had finished, most in the room were looking at her in rapt attention, even Rahne. Voldemort seemed to be the only one that was not impressed. Snape seemed almost surly, perhaps able to tell what she had done with his past.

"I see…" said the Dark Lord slowly. "Well then…you are not the only one to come to us so recently. Bellatrix…Rodolphus, Fenrir, Lucius, and Severus has been loyal to me for quite some time. But this one _here_," he said with a cruel smile, gesturing lazily to Rahne, who stood behind him and off to the side. "She is relatively new as well. Tell me, D'Ancanto…what is your stance on mutants?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"I still say there was no use for her to begin screaming," said Severus with a sigh, leaning back against the wall beside the door that led into his living quarters as he talked with Albus Dumbledore much later that night. Rogue was inside, having locked herself in 'her' room and having yet to come out once more. "I hadn't even thought that she would make it out of the house before she fairly exploded…"

"But Voldemort did not suspect anything?" asked Dumbledore in slight concern. Snape shook his head.

"No, I do not think he did. The Lestranges, especially, seemed to be impressed both with her and her lineage. And the girl…the Lupin girl…she seemed to have taken a liking to her," said Snape with a sigh. "Albus…the girl has lost her mind. Lupin's child, I mean to say. We'll never get her back now…and D'Ancanto knows it. She saw it in her eyes. When we came back here, she began screaming about having 'never felt so useless in her life' before she locked herself in her room."

"Until it is put to the test, I refuse to believe that Rahne is beyond rescuing," said Albus grimly. "Did you manage to find where she is being kept, at least?"

"No…the Dark Lord was careful not to reveal much while Rogue was there. He wants to make sure he has her trust first," said Snape surely. "But like I said before, I think that he will eventually accept her."

"Good," said Albus with a nod. "When she comes out, please send her to my office with the password. I want to go over everything that she saw and heard with her; see it through her eyes as well."

"Where are you going now?" asked Snape in surprise as, without another word, the headmaster turned and began to walk down the hall. Albus answered over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around.

"I will be back later tonight. But first, I have to visit Grimmauld Place…"


	19. Going Down Swinging

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm back with the next chapter of the story. Sorry that it wasn't posted sooner, but the computer I had been using had decided not to let me log onto any more. At first I thought they closed my account (which means nothing, I have a second account but it doesn't have any stories posted under it yet), but then tried logging on from another computer and it worked like a champ.

Technology blows a big one . . .

I'm glad you guys love this story so much; I don't think I've ever gotten such a positive response to a story. I'm just waiting for the flames to come . . . or not. Yeah, now I'm just rambling . . .

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 19: Going Down Swinging

The group of mutants and wizards were waiting anxiously for Dumbledore to arrive. Although Jean had been in Rogue's mind, she had kept most of her concentration on keeping the various psyches in Rogue's mind subdued (which was actually fairly difficult for the teenaged psychic) and keeping the cold probing fingers of Voldemort's mind diverted and hidden away from the truth. To be honest, she really didn't know what had gone on while her teammate had faced down the most evil wizard in all of Britain; so when the others had asked her what had happened she regrettably responded that she didn't know.

So now it became a waiting game . . .

Remus and Logan were pacing around the kitchen lines of worry etched onto their faces making them appear far older than normal. Cadence was drumming her fingers on the table top and fidgeting with the same worry that the two older men felt. Remy had his face buried in his hands as he rubbed his face and the sleep from his eyes. Scott and Jean were murmuring quietly and guessing as to what may have happened during Rogue's encounter with Voldemort. Sirius watched everyone silently from the corner along with Piotr.

The distant sound of the front door opening and closing and the brisk footsteps that followed caused everyone of freeze instantly as they stared at the kitchen entryway. Dumbledore stepped calmly through the door, a mixture of worry and contentment on his aged face.

"Well, Albus," Remus said the instant the man crossed the threshold, "did he buy it?" Albus nodded his head and the group let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Yes, but with some hesitation according to Severus," Dumbledore replied before taking the seat next to Cadence, "the Lestranges seemed to take a liking to her instantly because of her linage and skills. Lucius as well . . . and apparently . . . so did Rahne . . ."

"What?" several people asked at once with varying tones of anger and bewilderment. Albus couldn't help but smile a little.

"In addition to the Lestranges, Lucius, and Voldemort, Fenrir and Rahne were also present at this introduction and interrogation. Apparently, Rahne seemed take a liking to her also. Despite what Severus and Rogue believe they saw in Rahne, I do not think she is too far gone yet. The nature of the wolf is to be fiercely loyal to the pack and wary of strangers, and because she didn't behave that way towards Rogue, I think that there is some small part of Rahne that remembers who she really is."

This was the first bit of good news the Order and the X-men had heard in a long time. It instilled a small grain of hope in them all and Albus could see some of the worry and concern lift off of the tired souls.

"I had wanted to talk to Rogue about it further tonight, but she retired as soon as she and Severus arrived back at the castle. I dare say that she's had quite enough excitement for the day, and she'll be getting even more soon . . ."

"Why's dat?" Remy asked curiously. The mischievous twinkle reappeared in Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"She'll be teaching her first class on Monday."

XXXXXXXX

Rogue woke tired and stressed the next morning. Normally she liked to sleep in on Sunday mornings, but she had been so upset with what she had seen in Rahne the night prior that it caused her to toss and turn all night. This resulted in her being cranky and irritable on that bright autumn morning. She rolled out of bed and stretched before taking note of a roll of parchment on her bedside table. She picked it up and read it.

"Grand," she muttered to herself as she read through Dumbledore's elegant script. He wanted to meet with her this morning and discuss the events of last night. Running a hand through her bed-head hair she made her way into the bathroom to shower and clean up. Upon exiting she was dressed in black robes, pulling on her gloves, and ready to meet with Dumbledore. She moved into the common sitting place where Snape was bent over stacks of parchment.

"Dumbledore wanted to speak with you," he said not looking up from his grading, "and you missed the morning meal. The house-elves brought those for you." He motioned to a silver tray piled high with muffins.

"Thanks," Rogue drawled as she grabbed a muffin and headed for the door. Severus looked up at her.

"Don't you need to know where his office is or what the password is?" he asked curiously. She looked back at him, smiled and tapped her head.

"Second floor, stone gargoyle, acid pops," she said before exiting. Severus shook his head before looking back at the essays.

"She is one strange girl."

Rogue wandered up through the dungeons and started heading towards the second floor while carefully consuming the muffin she had taken with her. For it being so late in the morning she was surprised that there were so few students wandering the halls.

_Probably all doing the homework that they neglected. Sundays were always the quietest at the mansion too_, she thought with a smile as she reached the stone gargoyle that (she recognized from Tonks' and Severus's memories) was the entrance to the Headmaster's office. She opened her mouth to say the password when she heard someone clearing their throat behind her.

"_Hem, hem."_

A thin, fake smile stretched across Rogue's lips. She knew that terrible Umbridge lady was behind her and she really did not want a confrontation at the current moment in time. So Rogue looked over her shoulder and smiled at the amphibian-like lady.

"Miss D'Ancanto," Umbridge said in a falsely authoritative voice, "I was hoping to have a word with you before classes . . ."

"Ah'm terribly sorry, ma'am," Rogue said through her thickened accent, "but rahght now Ah'm supposed t'be meetin' with Dumbledore. He said he had a few thangs he wanted t'go over with me before Ah start teachin'." _Now get away from me you vile woman._ Rogue added silently. Umbridge cleared her throat again.

"Very well then," she said with disdain obvious in her voice, "but regardless, I must speak with you before you teach your first class. Good day." Rogue smiled as the woman walked away muttering to herself. Rogue turned back to the stone statue and said the password. The instant she did the gargoyle slid out of the way and Rogue ascended up the stairs to Dumbledore's office. When she arrived at the large wooden door she knocked softly on it.

"Come in," Dumbledore called from within and Rogue opened the door and stepped in.

If she hadn't been amazed with what Hogwarts had to display before, she was now as she looked about Dumbledore's office.

The upper part of the circular room was covered with portraits of people who were moving and talking to one another. Rogue knew from the memories in her head that these were all former headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts. Books and strange trinkets and devices lined the ancient shelves of the room. Rogue felt like she had stepped into a strange library and that she shouldn't breathe for fear of disrupting the intensely quiet atmosphere. Sure, she had seen his office in the memories of Tonks and Snape, but actually being in the room was quite breath taking.

She looked at the older man behind the large desk. He was smiling and murmuring as he fed a large bird with scarlet and gold plumage. Rogue slid into one of the armchairs in front of the desk as she watched him and the bird. She also took note of two large stone bowls (one slightly larger than the other) on his desk. One was filled with a slivery liquid, the other was empty.

"What type of bird is that?" she asked quietly in an attempt to attract the headmaster's attention.

"This, Miss D'Ancanto, is a phoenix," he said as he stroked the bird one more time before turning to look at Rogue, "amazing creatures." Rogue's jaw dropped.

"Did ya just that that is a phoenix?" she asked in amazement. Both the man and the bird looked at her curiously.

"Yes," he said a smile spreading across his face, "I did. Amazing creatures they are that is without a doubt. They live on for eons, always rising from the ashes of the bird that lived before it. Their tears possess the greatest healing qualities and can cure any ailment. Their song is magical and possesses the power to strengthen the hearts of the good and strike fear into the hearts of the wicked. They are, however, fiercely independent by nature, but if you befriend them and treat them as though they are your equal, they will be loyal for life . . . remind you of anyone, Rogue?" Rogue nodded while staring at the bird.

"Jean's bonded with somethang called the Phoenix Force . . ." Rogue whispered feeling the guilt well up inside of her. If she had really wanted to, she could look into Jean's psyche as see that there were more similarities between her and Jean's personalities that what Rogue would let on. Jean just applied and volunteered herself for more while Rogue lurked in the shadows. If Rogue applied her talents more, she'd be very similar to Jean . . .

But Rogue couldn't help but feel a small bit of resentment build up in her when she thought of how this was her one chance to show her stuff and Jean tried to take it from her. Rogue instantly shook the notion from her head. This wasn't to prove that she was better than Jean or vice versa . . . it was to save Rahne. She could put aside the petty differences for that noble goal.

"Yes, so I've been told," Dumbledore said, his countenance darkening slightly and knocking Rogue from her thoughts, "I have theories about that, but now is not the time to discuss it. I called you here to discuss last night. Tell me, Rogue, do you know what these are." He gestured to the two bowls. Rogue looked at them and searched the memories of Snape and Tonks.

"They're Pensieves, sir," Rogue said curiously. Dumbledore nodded as he put the tip of his wand to his forehead.

"Do you know how to use it?" he said as he pulled the wand away and a silvery, liquid like thread was attached to the end of his wand. He then placed it into the already filled Pensieve. Rogue nodded. "Good," Dumbledore said extending his hand, "Now I think you'll need a recharge since last night."

Cautiously Rogue took off one of her gloves. She was actually terrified of taking the memories and abilities of Dumbledore. She may not have known much about him or his history (aside from what Snape and Tonks knew), but Rogue could feel that he was a very powerful man. Very carefully she tapped his hand lightly with her bare fingertips. The contact had been for less than half a second, but she could feel the magical power surge through her veins. For a moment, she felt as though she had just taken some sort of drug (she'd been in the med lab and hooked up to IV's more times than she could count). Shaking away the few memories she'd gotten she focused on the magical energy she had obtained.

Dumbledore watched her anxiously and she placed her own wand to her temple. After a moment she pulled it away along with the memory attached to it. He motioned to the empty Pensieve and she placed the memory in it. Dumbledore smiled with approval and Rogue smiled weakly back.

That had been the strangest feeling she had ever felt in her life. One moment the memory of what had happened last night was in her head, and the next . . . poof . . . it was gone. It was manifested in that single, silvery, thread. She was beginning to think of the possibilities of the Pensieve when Dumbledore interrupted her thoughts.

"Let's have a look now, shall we?" he said as he motioned for her to touch the silvery liquid now pooling in the bottom of the Pensieve. Rogue extended her hand and touched it at the same moment Albus did.

XXXXXXXX

When Rogue blinked her eyes and discovered she was in Dumbledore's office again she was shocked.

"That," she said stunned, "was really, really odd." Dumbledore laughed at her reaction.

"It is, my dear," Dumbledore said with a chuckle, "but it has given me a new insight on things. Now I am certain that there is still hope for Rahne, but we must wait for the right moment. Fenrir is still too overprotective of her, especially after the failed attempt on Miss Granger's life."

"So ya think we can still get her back," Rogue said with hope leaking into her voice. Dumbledore nodded and smiled. Rogue sighed with relief.

"That is all for now Miss D'Ancanto," Dumbledore said, dismissing her, "I dare say you'll want some time to prepare for tomorrow." Rogue flinched; she had forgotten that she was supposed to be teaching a class the next afternoon. She stood, bid the professor good bye and headed for the door. As she placed her hand on the knob she looked back at Dumbledore.

"Professah?" she said timidly.

"Yes?"

"That Pensieve," Rogue said with excitement in her voice, "Do y' . . . do y'thahnk that if Ah put the memories of the people Ah absorbed in there, their psyches would clear outta mah head?" Dumbledore mused about this for a moment.

"I supposed they would," Dumbledore said slowly, "but I would think long and hard before removing any of the memories. There might be something in there that could save your life. It won't do you much good if it's in a Pensieve and not your mind." Rogue nodded and left the Professor's office.

XXXXXXXX

Amara slumped against the locker next to the one Jubilee was digging through and let out a tired sigh. It was Monday morning and they were at school getting ready to head off to their classes. The teens at the institute had been kept fairly in the dark about the events going on across the pond. They knew that Rogue had gone undercover, masquerading as a pureblood witch, but they didn't have much more information than that. With the added stress of school, the teens' nerves were beginning to fray.

"This sucks," Amara griped as she adjusted her backpack. Jubliee grunted in ascent.

"Just be glad that Storm and Beast's training sessions are easier than Logan's," Jubliee replied dryly as she pulled her Chemistry book from the war zone she called the floor of her locker. Amara sighed dramatically.

"I'm really starting to get worried about her though," Amara said fighting back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "Rahne was . . . is so young and innocent. God, the things they could be doing to her . . ." Jubilee slammed her locker shut violently and glared at her fellow mutant and friend.

"Don't say things like that," Jubliee said crossly, fighting her own urge to cry with worry, "She'll be fine, we'll get her back, and things will go back to normal. They will!"

"Well, well, what's going on here?" A curious and familiar taunting voice asked from behind Jubilee, the two girls looked in amazement at the group standing behind them.

"What are you lot doing here?" Amara asked angrily feeling her skin warm up. Standing there was the Brotherhood, minus Lance and the deranged St. John. Pietro, Wanda, Freddy, Todd, and Tabby were there waiting expectantly for an answer. Tabby walked up and slung an arm around her two former teammates.

"Mags got us back into school. Kelly's gone, and the new principal is a bit more . . . accepting towards mutants. Mags wanted us to finish up our education so he got us all back in. Great isn't it?"

"Um, yeah, it sure is, Tabby," Jubilee said weakly. Tabby instantly picked up on the hesitancy in Jubliee's voice and she looked at the Asian girl strangely.

"Something wrong?" She asked curiously, "Have a shitty summer? The Badger give you all a hard time after the whole Apocalypse deal? Oh, hey where's Rahne? I have something I wanted to show . . ." Tabby cut off abruptly when Jubilee started to sob quite loudly. All of the Brotherhood exchanged looks as the girl fell to her knees sobbing and Amara tried to comfort her.

"It's ok, Jubes, she didn't know . . ."

"Know what?" Tabby demanded with a hint of worry, "What happened to Fur-Top? Oh God, did her parents take her back again?"

"N-n-n-no," Jubliee choked through her sobs as she looked at the enemy team, "w-w-we went to England . . . a-a-and she was . . ." the girl broke down again and the Brotherhood was instantly worried, despite the fact that the X-men were theoretically the enemy. They were just vulnerable teenagers too . . .

"What happened?" Wanda asked taking a step towards the sobbing girl and away from where the boys were awkwardly shuffling their feet.

"Rahne was looking for her natural parents," Amara said calmly, her face and voice were devoid of emotion, "there were some anti-mutant protestors. She stopped X-23 from attacking them, but the group she was with got split up. She hid and found someone who, we think, said he knew her father, but he . . . did something to her . . . and he kidnapped her."

"What, yo!" Todd said bewildered, "Why didn't she just go wolf on him and bite his ass?" Amara glared at the toad like teenager.

"She couldn't," Amara said hotly, her eyes glowing orange with anger, "The man . . . he was a wizard, an evil one. He placed a spell on her and took her to an even more evil wizard. We don't know anything more."

'_Evil wizard?' _Todd mouthed soundlessly to Fred. Fred shrugged in response, and twirled a finger around the side of his head, mouthing the word '_crazy'_ right back to him.

"Uh...kay then," said Todd uncertainly, backing away just a smidgen. "Now that you've lost your sanity and everything..."

"Shut up, Toad!" Tabitha snapped, smacking the boy upside his head and making him yelp in pain before she turned back to Jubilee and Amara. "And so you just _left_ her there? What the heck's wrong with you?"

At first, Jubilee was actually too stunned to reply to Tabitha's angry question. Honestly, she probably wouldn't have even mentioned the word 'wizard' to the Brotherhood if she had thought that they would have believed her in the slightest. In all honesty, she still wasn't sure if _she_ believed in magic and whatnot. Though it did attest too much that was happening, it was still a little hard to believe that there was really such a thing as _magic_ in the world. Finally, she managed to find her voice again.

"N-n-no," Jubilee stuttered, "Logan and some of the older X-men stayed behind to look for her and help this underground magical group fight against this evil wizard." The Brotherhood was shocked into silence as the bell rang signaling to all the students that they had five minutes to get to class. Well, either they had been shocked into silence, or they had finally come to the conclusion that the mutant girl had off and lost her mind. But before they could ponder this, Amara helped Jubliee up and they started to walk away when Pietro called out to them.

"What's this wizard's name?"

Amara looked over her shoulder at the rag-tag group of ruffians before responding, "Voldemort," coldly, and walking away. She didn't see it, but the color drained from Pietro's face.

"Shit," he said and ran a hand through his hair. The others looked at him strangely. Oh wonderful...now they had to wonder if _Pietro_ had lost his mind as well? He didn't actually believe all of this, did he?

"What's up, Quicksilver?" Tabby demanded, "You know this guy?" she asked incredulously. He shook his head.

"No, I don't," he said quietly before looking at Wanda, "but our father did. I need to call dad, _now_." Without another word there was a rush of wind and Pietro was gone.

XXXXXXXX

Rogue looked over the notes that Snape had given her nervously. She had studied them intensely since Sunday afternoon. The potion was simple enough, it was the Swelling Solution. The second years had spent the last class period preparing to make the potion under Snape's tutelage. It shouldn't be to hard . . . should it?

"The muggle Murphy is right, you know," he had said to her that morning after breakfast, "Anything that can go wrong, will. Even if it's fool-proof, it'll go wrong. Especially with the younger years, they're not nearly as careful as the older students."

Rogue walked through the dungeon corridors until she came to the potions classroom. She could hear the cheerful chatter coming from inside the room and she looked at the notes Snape had given her.

**_Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff second years: Swelling Solution._**

**_Fairly competent class, Ravenclaws can always be trusted to do a good and correct job. The Hufflepuffs make a good effort, but aren't a successful as their counterparts._**

**_Keep an eye on Jacob McGinnis, Hufflepuff. Clumsy as hell and will do something to screw his potion up. Just pray he doesn't melt his cauldron._**

_**There will be Deflating Draught in the top left drawer of my desk should any "accidents" occur.**_

Taking a steadying breath, Rogue looked back up at the closed door in front of her. She knew she had no reason to be nervous, really. With Severus in her head, she was sure that she'd be able to do an okay job, at least. It was just her nerves acting up again—probably because of that revolting Umbridge woman. Rogue had narrowly escaped having to meet with the woman before her lesson, but was sure that she would end up paying for it later. She fixed on her coldest look and folded up the parchment and placed it into one of her pockets.

_Here goes nothin'_ she thought ruefully as she slammed the door open and shut and stormed into the room.

The class shut up instantly and faced front looking fearfully at their new teacher. Rogue smiled coldly as she looked around the class. She opened the role call book and quickly took attendance. When she had called Jacob's name he gave a timid, "Here." Rogue looked up from the book and stared him down with a cold glare.

"McGinnis, yeah," Rogue said coldly and looked back down at the book, "Severus warned meh 'bout ya . . . Nixon, Claire . . ." After role was finished she looked around the class.

"As Ah'm sure y'all have figured out, Ah will be y'new Potions teacher. Mah name is Miss D'Ancanto. Not 'hey ya', 'teacher', or 'umm . . . excuse meh'. Ya will address meh by name, if not, Ah will not answah y'questions. Accordin' ta the notes left ta meh by Professah Snape, y'all are ready t'start the Swellin' Solution." Rogue flicked her wand towards the board and the instructions for the potion appeared on the board. "Begin."

The students immediately went about getting prepared. Some went to fill their cauldron with the required water, others went to the store to get the needed ingredients that they did not possess, and some started preparing the ingredients that they did have in their possession. Rogue watched with some level of amusement as the students worked. If only the kids back at the mansion worked with this level of concentration and fear training sessions would be much smoother.

Rogue then began doing a circuit around the room. She took to looming over students making remarks about their preparations or the color and density of their potions. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it was sort of fun. She took cues from Severus's psyche as she weaved through the desks. She made sure that she was very careful with her exposed hands; they remained behind her back folded and intertwined and away from the students, even though most of them had gloves of some sort on to deal with the various ingredients. She had decided against wearing her invisible gloves this time, thinking it best to have her hands ready to grab any glass objects, like a beaker or potions' container, which was somewhat difficult to do with gloves on.

As she was passing the nervous and twitchy Jacob she made sure to be critical of his potion, but at the same time gave him a hint as to how to correct it. She said it so snidely that is could have easily been interpreted as an insult, but he was smart enough to see the hint she had given him. She may have been cruel, but she wasn't heartless. She couldn't stand to see someone fail.

Finishing one circuit, she was walking up the center aisle towards the front of the room when she saw it. One of the students in the second row on the outside of the desk had set one of the beakers containing a potent ingredient from Snape's store teetering on the edge of the desk. She watched it as it finally tipped over the edge and drop in slow motion.

With agility and speed that would have made Logan weep with joy, Rogue had vaulted over a cauldron, weaved between the sitting students and caught the phial right before it hit the floor. The class was staring at her speechlessly. They had never seen a person move with such precision and grace before. Rogue lifted the beaker and set it safely on the desk and glared at the culprit: a Ravenclaw boy. She could feel Severus tugging at the corners of her mind and she let him take over.

"Ya ignorant child!" Rogue practically snarled, "D'ya have no respect for othah's property? Ten points from Ravenclaw! An' ya should be more careful when ya set down yer ingredients, especially when they're from yer professah's store!" The boy nodded weakly and continued with his work. The class continued in silence (and thankfully without any more incidents) up until the bell tolled from the clock tower signaling the end of class.

"Clean up yer work areas an' bottle up yer potions an' leave 'em on mah desk," Rogue instructed as she wiped the board clean with a wave of her wand. Quickly the students filled up their flasks and left them on the desk before quickly leaving the room. When the last student left, Rogue collapsed into the chair behind the desk and sighed. She looked at the potions in front of her and could hear Snape criticizing each of them and Tonks saying that they all weren't that bad. Rogue looked up when the door to the potions room opened. She had been expecting Severus, but was surprised to find that it was Draco Malfoy instead.

"Can Ah help ya, Draco?" Rogue asked as she stood from her seat and watched him approach. He eyed the potions on the desk skeptically.

"Pitiful," he muttered before looking up at Rogue, "Aren't they?" Rogue didn't have to be a psychic to know that he was testing her. She could tell that the boy was a lot of things, but subtle wasn't one of them.

"Horribly so," Rogue agreed as she looked at one of the potions that was quite obviously the wrong color, "Very disapointin' too. Considerin' mah future profession. Its heartwrenchin' fer meh t'see these kids not givin' a damn about potions. They think magic is all about wand wavin', but potions . . . brewing a decent potion is lahke an art. It take a steady hand an' a keen mind t'do it rahght. Kids t'day have no patience." She judged the look on his face before quickly adding, "Especially these damn mudbloods." Draco smiled. Rogue knew that she had passed what ever test he had in mind. He reached into his robes and pulled out a wax-sealed letter and handed it to her.

"It's from my mother," he explained with a smug smile, "I believe it's an invitation of sorts. You would be wise not to turn it down. Good afternoon, Miss D'Ancanto." Without another word he turned and left the dungeon. Rogue cautiously opened is before swearing under her breath. Without really thinking about it she tapped into Jean's psyche thus notifying the red-head that she wanted to talk.

-_Rogue what is it? Is everything alright?-_ Jean asked and Rogue could hear the worry in her voice.

_Nah, everything's just fine, but Ah'm afraid we're going to be up against our next test and maybe get closer to freeing Rahne._ Rogue thought as she looked over the letter again.

-_I'm not sure I like where you're going with this . . ._- Jean said unsurely. Rogue laughed.

_Trust me darlin' I'm not liking where it's goin' either . . . 'Dear Miss D'Ancanto, I am quite intrigued by the impression you have made on my husband, sister, and brother-in-law. I am quite upset that I did not get the chance to meet you, however I would like to remedy that situation immediately. I cordially invite you to tea this Saturday with my sister, a few other respectable ladies, and myself. I look forward to meeting you and learning all about you. A jamais irréprochable, toujours raffiné, Narcissa Malfoy.'_

-_A jamais irréprochable, toujours raffiné?_- Jean asked.

'_Forever flawless, always refined', it's the Malfoy family motto,_ Rogue explained, _they're pureblood fanatics. Lucius was the only Malfoy present the other night . . ._

-_Rogue, this sounds like something you can handle . . . I mean it's a tea party . . ._-

_. . . An' Ah'm the biggest tomboy ya will ever meet . . ._

-_Point taken. Well, looks like we need to find your 'inner Southern Belle' before Saturday. Do you have time now?_-

_Nah, Ah have another class comin' in about ten minutes._

-_How about after dinner then? You contact me and we can practice in a psychic projection in your mind._-

_Alrahght Jean,_ Rogue replied before she added,_ and thanks._

-_We're in this together . . . for Rahne . . . -_

_Yeah, for Rahne . . ._

XXXXXXXX

Professor Xavier rolled tiredly out of Cerebro for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the span of the day. He was exhausted mentally and no closer to discovering the whereabouts of his lost student. He had examined it from every angle he possibly could, but he seemed to be getting nowhere at all. He wearily rubbed his face as he passed by several of the students who were preparing to have a training session with Storm.

_Charles_, Beast projected with his mind and the professor easily picked up the message, _there is someone here who would like to speak to you. He is waiting in your office._

_-Who is it, Hank?-_

_If I'm not mistaken, it's Erik Lehnsherr . . . _Came the Beast's voice again, this time sounding a little unsure of himself.

That bit of information shocked the professor greatly and he made his way as quickly as possible to his office where his old friend was waiting for him. He opened the door and there was Erik, in a nice suit, looking quite normal for once. Xavier could sense that there was something greatly troubling him, and he was curious to know what could disturb such a powerful mutant. When the door opened, Erik stood respectably as Xavier wheeled into the room.

"Erik," the professor said calmly, "it is quite a surprise to see you here. Is there something I may do for you?" he asked in the most polite manner he could. In his opinion, it was just better that way, to avoid conflict. Erik resumed his seat.

"I receive an unsettling call from Pietro this morning concerning one of your students, Rahne Sinclair, I believe," Erik replied as the lines of worry deepened on his face. Xavier gave a tired sigh.

"The students went to England for a . . . vacation for lack of a better term. She was looking for her natural parents and was . . ."

"Abducted by a wizard," Erik finished for the man sitting opposite man, "Pietro had some of the details when he called me. Have you had any luck in locating her at all?"

"Some, my student, Rogue, has gone undercover within the group of Death Eaters. She has seen Rahne, so she is still alive, but under some type of enchantment . . ." Xavier gave a tired sigh, cocking an eyebrow in surprise. This was most certainly strange . . . it was as though the mutant sometimes known as Magneto knew something he didn't. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Erik cleared his throat.

"My son told me that . . . that Rahne is being held by a man by the name of Voldemort, is this true, Charles?" there was an anxious note in Erik's voice that truly frightened Xavier, but he was intrigued.

"Yes, she is," Xavier said calmly and noticed that Erik's face darkened greatly, "Erik, what is it?"

"Charles, do you remember when we had our first fall out?" Erik asked calmly, "It was quite some time ago, but after the fact, I disappeared for a time."

"Yes, I thought you had gone to Germany," Xavier replied forming a steeple with his hands. The mutant known as Magneto shook his head.

"I was in Britain for five months before heading to Germany," Erik replied his face continuing to darken as he spoke, "I was looking for . . . recruits . . . when I stumbled upon a power-hungry, driven young man . . ."

"Erik," Charles said, truly frightened, "Who do you mean?" Erik sighed heavily.

"Charles, there are some important things that I need to tell you about Tom Marvolo Riddle."

XXXXXXXX

She wasn't uncomfortable. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Oh no, she was quite comfortable in the warm white space she had been trapped in. And she wasn't going to complain. She could see everything that was going on outside her prison. She didn't like it much, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it. She had tried fighting and she had failed.

And now she was comfortably confined.

The only time she wasn't comfortable was when the wild ones came in. They taunted her. Sneered at her. Sometimes they attacked her, but she was just part of a whole, and any damage they did to her, they did to themselves. She didn't even try to fight them any more. She just took the insults as she sat in her confinement watching the world pass by.

She was a silent watcher, taking the world in while the world was ignorant of her presence. While _they_ were ignorant of her presence.

But now she was just biding her time. As that world passed by around her, she noticed things that they didn't because they were living in the world as opposed to observing it. She saw all the little signs and hope shined bright for her.

For the first time in what seemed like years, Rahne Sinclair, the compassionate human side of the mutant known as Wolfsbane, smiled to herself. Those on the outside were so ignorant . . .

They were coming for her . . . she had seen the first of many . . .

"Rogue," she whispered in a hoarse voice with a wide childlike smile on her face. She may have been trapped in her own mind, but she had recognized the face instantly. She had struggled to subdue her excitement at seeing the familiar face so the wild ones wouldn't become suspicious.

The X-men were coming for her. They were coming to free her from her confinement. To rescue her.

The instant she was free from his evil grasp, she was going to hug Rogue, who had been her light of hope and salvation. Then she was going to rip Fenrir a new one. Those two thoughts made the trapped human side of Rahne smile with untamed joy.


	20. Staying Until The End

Note from Jinxeh: Heh…yeah, the wait for this chapter was entirely my fault. My schoolwork was beginning to pile up (Well…technically, it still is) and so I hadn't had a lot of time to write. Couple that with a sever case of writer's block, and you can understand that it was almost impossible to write. O.0 Anyways, enough of my excuses! Take it away, Alexis!

Alright kids I'm not going to write much here anyways since this chapter is a bit on the late side and the next chapter probably will be too. Classes are starting up for me this Wednesday and I'm going to try to get into a difficult Shakespeare class. So here's hoping for a speedy update!

* * *

Chapter 20: Staying Until The End

As the rest of the school week went on, Rogue began to develop a new sort of respect for all of her former teachers at the Xavier Institute. She had never really thought that Logan, Hank, Ororo, and Professor Xavier had ever really had a difficult time in managing the school—but now she was beginning to think differently.

Sure, there were the good kids that she managed to deal with in the second and first year potion's classes; the ones that needed little or no help from her to complete their potions, and who always managed to turn in their work on time without reminding. But with those came the other children; the ones that she just wanted to smack upside the head because their potions were in trouble every five seconds, and who had to be reminded at least three times to turn in their essays on time.

It was only with the help of Snape that she even managed to keep up with her classes at all, even though she only handled two out of the seven years at the school. Sure, she had the most of his knowledge and was more than able to find ways to keep the classes occupied—but she didn't really have the experience that Snape had. She had to admit, even if he was a little frustrating at times, it was nice of him to help her come up with essays and different potions every night in which to set the children to.

And then, of course, there was the fact that a large portion of her evenings was spent with a mental connection between her and Jean Grey. It was Friday night that found Rogue in the sitting area in her cozy teacher's quarters. On the small sofa and with her legs folded beneath her, she had her eyes closed as her hands rested on her lap.

'_Rogue, I really think that by now you're more than capable of presenting yourself properly to all of those ladies,' _came the voice of Jean Grey inside of her head. Rogue could just see the face of the redhead in her mind; framed by her long red hair, and with a slightly tired look in her normally bright green eyes. _'You should do fine now that you've got the proper etiquette.'_

'_Where'd you learn all a' that, anyways?' _asked Rogue in aggravation, a sigh escaping the confines of her lips as she appeared in Jean's mind, in astral form. It was easier for them to communicate that way—instead of going through the hassles of searching through all of the minds at Hogwarts and then focusing on Rogue's (while trying to _keep_ her concentration on Rogue) Jean simply created a simple astral plane for them both to be on.

It was strange in that plane—everything around them was inky black except for each other, and any other object that Jean chose to include. Lately, there had been a round white table and quite a bit of silverware, plates, and teacups complete with saucers in the astral plane as well—but now it was blank, with just the two of them. Jean looked as she always did—rather short purple, long-sleeved shirt, tan pants with brown sandals, with her hair loose. But Rogue, even though she was dressed in robes in the real world, was surprisingly dressed in her black and green X-Man uniform in the astral plane. Jean didn't question this—a person's astral form took the form of whatever it was most comfortable with, and so the person himself or herself had very little control over it.

The first time Jean had gone onto an astral plane had been with Professor Xavier. There, Jean had showed up dressed in her second-grade Halloween costume, and Xavier had showed up with a full head of hair. Subconsciously, the mind made itself known in the way it _wanted_ to be known. Though to this day, she had no idea why, at that time, she had wanted to be dressed as Wonder Woman.

'_It was something my mom taught me,' _said Jean with a small smile. '_She always wanted to make sure I knew how to 'act properly' around others—and it looks like all of that has finally come in handy. Do you think you're going to be all right, tomorrow? Do you want me to stay linked to you during the tea party, just in case?'_

'_It might help,'_ Rogue admitted with a sigh, crossing her arms. _'Ah mean—if they decide that they don't like me and kill me, it'd be nice if someone found out where they put my body so Ah could have a proper burial, after all…'_

'_Rogue…'_ said Jean disapprovingly. '_That's hardly something to joke about. These women may have invited you to a tea party, but you still shouldn't forget that they're Death Eaters. You have to watch your back, still.'_

'_Gee, really? Ah hadn't noticed,' _commented Rogue dryly. '_Anyways, do the others know 'bout this yet? Ah told Dumbledore the other day—he gave me the same advice you did, 'be careful', 'watch your back', all that stuff.'_

'_Remy doesn't want you to go, but he doesn't want you to do anything with all of this spying anyways. Logan's all for it. Cadence is confused—she doesn't understand what a tea party is.'_

'_Not exactly shocking,' _said Rogue darkly. _'Snape seems pretty sure that Ah'm gonna get myself killed. He told me that if my life depended on my lady skills at a tea party, then he'd be sure to send a bouquet of flowers to my funeral. He's a really pleasant guy.'_

This was followed by a slight laugh from Jean, perhaps appreciative of the fact that Rogue could joke about such sour words, and from such a darkened person. Finally she sighed and nodded her red head, smiling at Rogue before everything around them began to fade away.

'_I'll contact you tomorrow morning, before you leave,' _she said as she disappeared completely. _'But don't worry—you'll do fine.'_

'_Ah sure hope so…' _mumbled Rogue as she felt herself drifting away from the plane she had become so used to. A moment later, she was able to open her eyes and look around at the cozy sitting room that the rest of her body resided in. Sighing in relief (the transition from reality to an astral plane and back again always made her feel a little woozy, and so it was always a relief when that feeling passed) she unfolded her legs from underneath her and stood up from the sofa, stretching out her arms with a slight groan.

"This is gonna be interesting…" she muttered after she had let her arms drop to the side once more. Truthfully, she was dreading the day to come…but she knew that it wasn't like she could just back out of it. She had to remind herself to keep going, at least for Rahne. She just couldn't help but think back to what the girl had been like before—like in London, when Rahne and Cadence had met up with her and Remy as they made their way back to the hotel. Rahne had been so brave then, fighting to keep Cadence from going berserk.

And now…whenever Rogue thought about the young Scottish girl, there was a feeling of pure rage that would suddenly course through her. The Rahne that she had seen when meeting with the Dark Lord was something she wouldn't easily forget. There had been a feral nature in her eyes that had been frightening to look at, and it was something that frustrated Rogue to no end. The Rahne that she had known had been fun-loving, kind, and so _innocent_, just like she should have been. But now…looking at her was like looking into the eyes of a beast that was about to tear her limb from limb.

But she was going to change that if it meant going up against Voldemort himself. It was unlikely that would happen, and it was even more likely that Rogue would be killed within the first five seconds of that fight, but it was a thought that was enough to appease her. It was Voldemort's fault that things were like this, and so imagining his death was enough to make her somewhat happy.

Striding across her living area with a contented and somewhat diabolical grin on her face, she opened the door leading into the main room that adjoined with Snape's living area only to be facing Severus Snape himself. He had a hand up, as he had been preparing to knock when the door had suddenly been opened, though in his other hand he held a closed letter.

"Ah, there you are," he said, lowering his hand and cocking an eyebrow when he saw her expression. "Tired, are we?" he asked, noting the slight lines under her eyes.

"Since when ain't Ah?" commented Rogue dryly. "Ah don't mean to sound disrespectful or blunt or anything—but what do _you_ want?" she asked, crossing her arms and sighing slightly.

"A letter came for you, from America," said Severus in slight amusement to her behavior, holding up the letter he held in his hands. "It's from your professor, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh joyous rapture," Rogue muttered, taking the letter out of his hand and ripping it open as she stepped around him, walking slowly further into his living area, where the light was better to read from. Snape simply rolled his eyes slightly before turning around and walking past her, taking a seat at the sofa in front of the low coffee table, where he promptly returned to grading the essays that were strewn on the table. It seemed that the essays never stopped at Hogwarts.

He didn't even look up at her again until a sudden yelp—one that seemed to be a mixture of both shock and slight rage—pierced through the air. At it, his hand gave a sudden and involuntary jerk, and he made a dark slash of ink across the paragraph he had been grading. Swearing under his breath, he looked up at the young woman and glared, his eyes rather narrowed.

"Do you _mind_?" he asked sharply. "Honestly woman—is there really any need to _shout_ like that?"

"Hell yeah, there is!" replied Rogue, turning around to face him with a furious look upon her young face. "Magneto knows Voldemort! Ah can't believe this! Why on earth would he—"

"Excuse me?" asked Snape severely, on his feet in an instant. "_Who_ knows the Dark Lord?"

"Magneto!" repeated Rogue, thrusting the letter into his hands. "He's _not_ a friend of the X-Men, but he just went to Professor X and told him he met Voldemort! Jeez…this is _just_ what we need right now…"

"But he's willing to assist you…" said Snape after he had read through the rather short letter. "Is he a past enemy of yours?" he asked, looking up at Rogue curiously. The scowl set upon her face was enough of an answer. "I see…it seems that Xavier asking the opinion of yourself and the others at Grimmauld Place if he should be trusted. Do you think he can be?"

"What are you, some sort a' shrink?" asked Rogue in aggravation, snatching the letter from his hands and folding it over again. "And no, Ah don't think he can be trusted. But…he _is_ powerful…" she muttered. "So yeah, Ah might have to say that Ah do anyways…oh _man_…this _sucks_…"

XXXXXXXXX

_The Next Day…_

"Oh honestly, Narcissa," said Bellatrix Lestrange with a most uncharacteristic sort of giggle as she picked up her tea mug delicately. "You should have seen the girl! She was scared out of her mind, obviously, but she seemed to handling it _quite_ well."

"I wish I could have been there to see it," said Narcissa with a slight sigh, smiling at her sister fondly. "Draco has sent me letter after letter about her—if you ask me, I think he might be a little _smitten_ with her," she added with a laugh, to which the other women at the table joined in with. They were all gathered in the rather luxurious parlor room of the Malfoy mansion—everything was done in dark green or black, but with the sunlight streaming in through the wide windows everything seemed bright and cheery.

There were only four women sitting at the large table near the windows, sipping tea, and dressed in respectable, and yet rather refined black robes. Surprisingly, each wore a black, pointed witch hat perched jauntily on their heads.

"Hmm…this tea has a rather strange flavor to it, Narcissa," said one of the other women, looking into her cup with a cocked eyebrow. "Rather enchanting, though…what is it?" she asked, looking up to the other woman curiously.

"Some sort of spice," said Narcissa, shrugging. "Our newest house-elf, Tinny, makes it. It's quite good, isn't it?"

"So, when is this _fascinating_ woman getting here?" asked the other woman, brushing some of her long auburn hair out of her eyes and smiling, showing off her pearly white teeth.

"Should be any time, now," answered Narcissa. Bellatrix nodded thoughtfully and then turned towards the others, the hint of a slightly malevolent smile on her lips.

"Now when you meet her, _try_ not to stare at her hair. You know how those American girls can get," she added, rolling her eyes slightly at the questioning glances of her supposed friends. "Always putting colors in it that don't have to be there. She has these two, large white stripes in the front of her hair. It's a pity really—she could be quite pretty if she just left her hair all brown, instead…"

This left all of the women with shaking their heads and making '_tsk' _sounds in disapproval upon hearing of their soon-to-be guest at the table. It was Narcissa that was next to speak, although it was covertly at that as though she was diverging a huge secret. She had no qualms about doing so—all of the women at the table had their connections with the Dark Lord in one way or another, whether it be their husbands or other relations that served under him.

"So Bellatrix—tell me more of this mutant girl that Fenrir is controlling," she said in an obviously delighted tone of voice, her eyes sparkling at the prospect of her gossip. "Is she really the child of the Lupin man, or was Lucius telling lies?"

"No, she is," said Bellatrix with a rueful grin as she sipped at her tea. The eyes of the other two women widened considerably at this. "Looks like that damned mother of her's as well; red hair and such—though she is Scottish," she added thoughtfully.

"A mutant?" asked one of the women in amazement. "My goodness—how is that possible? If I remember correctly from my own schooldays, neither Liona nor Remus were mutants…as far as I know, anyways…"

"It was Lupin's werewolf blood that did it, I think," said Bellatrix. "You should see the girl's feral form—like a rusty-colored wolf. I hope that I someday get to see that other form she takes—the one more reminiscent of a true werewolf during the full moon…" she added wistfully. Narcissa opened her mouth to say something, but just then her newest house-elf, Tinny, ran into the room with a slight limp, looking to be a little out of breath.

This elf looked to be, by far, the one in the most dismal of shape than any of the others that the Malfoy family had ever owned. He had a few stray hairs poking out of the top of his otherwise bald skull; his nose looked like it had once been a carrot-like shape, but seemed to have been broken and beaten in a number of times so it was crooked and shorter; he wore nothing but what appeared to be a burlap sack with holes for his legs, arms, and head.

"Yes, Tinny?" asked Narcissa, not even looking down from her tea as she spoke. "What is it?"

"Mistwess, tha woman that yeh were waitin' fer is here," said the tine little elf in a surprisingly deep and mellow voice, bowing so low that the tip of his nose touched the clean floor. "Do yeh want fer me tah bring 'er in?"

Narcissa barely gave the inclination of her head in order to nod, but Tinny seemed to take that as a well-enough 'yes' for him. Nodding, he turned around and ran as fast as his narrow house-elf feet could take him, out of the room and into the hallway.

"Well, here we go," Narcissa sighed, getting to her feet and facing the doorway, along with the other three ladies. Smiles on their faces (though there was a certain coldness to be seen in that of Bellatrix) they stayed like that until Tinny walked into the room once more, followed casually by the woman they knew as Anna Marie D 'Ancanto.

"Miss D'Ancanto!" said Bellatrix with a smile as the young woman nervously walked up to the table and Tinny left once more. "So we meet again!"

"Ah suppose we do," said Anna Marie with a bright smile, taking the seat that Narcissa had gestured to as the other women also sat down. "Ah take it you're Draco's mother?" she asked imploringly, glancing to the shiny blonde hair of Narcissa Malfoy. The woman smiled and nodded her head as she served some tea into Anna Marie's cup.

"Indeed I am," she said cheerily. "Draco has written to me about you—it seems you've made quite an impression at Hogwarts."

"He's a fine young'n," said the young woman with a slight smirk, enjoying the slightly horrified looks on the faces of the other two women as the word "young'n" was used. "Too bad Ah don't have 'im in any of mah own classes—Ah'm just teachin' tha first n' second years."

"Tell me, Miss. D'Ancanto…" said one of the women after a moment. "Are you from the…er…south?"

"Sure am," said Anna Marie brightly. "But Ah gotta tell yah—Ah'm lovin' it over here. Sure, there were…others…like us in America, but never so organized as over here," she said meaningfully. The women nodded in sympathy at her words, as though she was describing a third-world country.

"Forget about Hogwarts for a moment," said Bellatrix with a sly grin. "I'd say you made the best impression on the Dark Lord. He doesn't show it—he hardly ever does—but I do think that he's warmed up to the thought of you joining our ranks. Your background especially was impressive," she said with a small smile. It didn't fool Rogue one bit that Bellatrix was putting forth a 'nice' effort. She remembered the woman quite well from when she had first met her.

The first time that Rogue had seen Bellatrix Lestrange, she had instantly disliked her. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was a Death Eater—though really, that probably should have been a factor in it, when she thought about it—but it was just what Rogue had felt. No matter if there was a smile or a frown on Bellatrix's face, there was a certain coldness in her eyes that never really left her at all.

When Rogue had first met the Dark Lord, she had observed how everyone in the room had acted towards Rahne…or Vallerie, as she was supposedly now called. She had been absolutely infuriated that the despicable scum known as Fenrir Greyback would have ever dared to call her his daughter. She had been, overall, frightened of the Dark Lord Voldemort, but he had been hiding his true emotions so well that he had been hard to truly get a grasp of character from.

Lucius Malfoy's disgust at Rahne had been all too evident. Whenever he looked upon the young mutant girl, a sneer would pull along the edge of his lips, and his eyes would narrow considerably. He hated the girl—it was probably just the fact that he was prejudiced against mutants, but he still hated her. And the Lestranges…the Lestranges had looked upon Rahne in amusement.

It was amusement at the torture that the young Scottish girl was unknowingly being put through. Rodolphus and Bellatrix had probably been trying to stop themselves from laughing out loud at how the girl had been forced to change—they had probably thought it was the funniest thing that they had ever seen before in their lives.

Bellatrix was still a tough person to understand though, either way. She hadn't known it until Snape had told her later, but the woman and her husband were former escapees from Azkaban—which did explain a lot. Much like what Rogue had noticed in the features of Sirius Black, Bellatrix Lestrange held a sort of haunted look in her facial features—she almost looked emaciated. Her cheekbones jutted out sharply; her eyes were sunken into her skull and dark; there was only a slight twinkle to see seen deep within her eye sockets to suggest that there was even life within them.

And yet she held herself quite well—she acted as supposedly 'dignified' as the others at the table, as though she had never been sent to prison in the first place. And if any of the other women had something to say about her imprisonment, they obviously kept their mouths shut about them. Truthfully said, they were probably too afraid to say anything to her about what was on their minds.

"Well…what can Ah say?" asked Anna Marie with a small shrug and a polite smile. "It's mah family—not much Ah can do 'bout it—Ah'm just grateful Ah got one a' the good ones," she laughed softly.

"What's it like, working as an apprentice to Severus Snape?" asked one of the other women—one with long auburn hair and bright blue eyes. "I don't know him very well personally, but he seems like such a…er…_character_," she said with a small frown.

"Don't be _modest_, Gina," said Narcissa with a small and delicate laugh. "We all know it—a good Death Eater he may be, but he can be so _infuriating_," she laughed. "I'm just grateful he doesn't treat my Draco like he does _other_ children…" she tried to sound sincere, but there was a sort of malevolent gleam in her eyes and a grin traced across her lips as she spoke of the other, less fortunate Hogwarts students.

"Well…Ah've heard that our teaching styles are…ah…somewhat similar," said Anna Marie with a forced smile, privately enjoying the way that the eyes of the women widened considerably at her words. "Tah be honest—I don't take no _crap_ with these kids," she added emotionlessly, taking her teacup in her hands and sipping delicately. "Professah Snape an' Ah both share that in common—we know we gotta teach tha kids, and if that means we gotta get up in their faces a bit…well, it's gotta be done," she shrugs.

"Get up…in their faces?" echoed the woman who had yet to speak, looking to Narcissa in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Rogue grinned down at her teacup, beginning to enjoy herself.

XXXXXXXXX

"What's she doin' now?" asked Remy nervously, looking across the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place to Jean. Wringing his hands together under the table, his deep, dark eyes were somewhat troubled. Cadence sat next to him, her elbows on the table and her chin propped up in her hands, looking bored. Mrs. Weasley was standing at the stove behind Jean making lunch for everyone, and Remus and Logan were both pacing besides the door, their hands behind their backs and their expressions grim. "She alright?"

"She's practically torturing them," came Jean's voice, coupled with a small sigh—although she did sound a little amused as well. She sat at the table calmly, her eyes closed and her hands in her lap, her head bowed as she concentrated. "Truthfully, I think they're a little _afraid_ of her—or of her accent, at any rate."

"I still don't understand," said Cadence boredly, taking her elbows off of the table and letting her head drop to the rough tabled-top surface with a thump, looking at Remy as her head lied on its side on the surface. "This…party…is like the one that was held here, when the two students became…prefects?"

"_Non_…" answered Remy sullenly, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. This had to be the fifth time she had asked this question, already… "A teaparty's different…s'where a bunch a prissy women get t'gether and drink non-alcoholic drinks and complain about their families," he said indifferently, ignoring the sudden scowl that crossed along Jean's lips.

"Prissy?" asked Cadence, scrunching up her nose. "But…_why_?"

"One a' the great mysteries o' life," said Remy, nodding sadly.

"They're interrogating her…" said Jean, her frown only growing. "Of course we knew they only asked her to the tea party so they could see what she was like…but they're not exactly been subtle about it, either…and now they're talking about mutants…my goodness…"

"Are they talking about Rahne?" asked Remus suddenly, his pacing stopped as he turned to look at Jean.

"They're trying not to mention her specifically," said Jean. "It's obvious that none of the women like mutants—most of them are too busy looking at her hair to really listen to what she says, though…"

XXXXXXXX

Rogue didn't even make her way back to Hogwarts until the later afternoon on that Saturday. She had used floo powder to get back to the castle, and after walking from McGonagall's office after she had appeared in that floo grate, the only thing that she wanted to do was get back to her quarters. She was tired and, frankly, she was also more than just a little annoyed.

'_Another five minutes with those women and Ah would have gone insane_…' she grumbled mentally, walking slowly through the corridors. She passed many students along the way, but only nodded her head when she addressed them, not feeling like even pretending to be cold and callous at the moment. '_Glad that's over_…'

'_You did great, Rogue,_' said Jean, still inside of the southern woman's head. '_And if they invite you to another tea party—_'

'_They'd better not…'_

'_Then at least you'll be more prepared for it_,' Jean finished. '_I'm just grateful you were at least able to contain your anger—I have to say, even I felt like screaming at them.'_

'_Ah can't wait until all of this is over,'_ Rogue groaned. '_If we can just snag Rahne back, then we can stop of all this pretending and just beat tha crap outta 'em instead of havin' tea with them…'_

'_Rogue…' _said Jean after a moment of silence. '_Do you really think it'll be over if…when we get Rahne back? Just because we rescue her doesn't mean that this war will be over, you know…what are we going to do afterwards?_'

This stopped Rogue in her tracks, right in front of the door leading into the quarters that she and Severus Snape, in a sense, shared. Her hand was outstretched, the tips of her fingers just touching the doorknob in front of her. Her eyes wide, her mouth was open just slightly. Her mind was churning as she struggled to find an answer for what Jean had asked. But she couldn't.

'_Ah…Ah guess Ah never thought about that before_,' she admitted after a moment, letting her hand leave the doorknob and fall to her side limply. In her mind, she knew that Jean was onto something with what she said. She, Rogue, had been so immersed in just trying to rescue Rahne from the clutches of the Dark Lord and Fenrir Greyback that she hadn't even thought about what she and the other X-Men were going to do after it was all over and Rahne had been returned to her rightful father. They would have Rahne…but what did that mean? Did that mean they were just going to _leave_?

'_Hmm…well…I'd better sever the tie now, Rogue_,' said Jean quietly. She could sense that Rogue needed a little time alone to think about it—and truthfully, so did she. '_Goodbye_.'

'_Bye_…' thought Rogue as Jean removed herself from her mind. But still, she didn't move. She didn't even notice it when a pair of footsteps echoed down the corridor towards her. Her head bowed and a firm frown on her face, she hardly made any sound at all when Severus Snape came up next to her, looking a little amused.

"You know…I don't know what sort of doors you have at your school, but here we _turn_ the _handle_ to get into rooms," he said, reaching past her and twisting the doorknob, and then pushing the door open. "Are you all right?" he asked, after he had walked past her and into the room, only to notice that she hadn't followed.

XXXXXXXXX

Rogue had had enough tea for one day at the tea party that Narcissa Malfoy had invited her to, so Severus had called for a house elf to bring up some hot chocolate for her instead. Now, as she sat on the couch in his living quarters, looking down at it dismally, he sat across from her, sipping his tea.

"Ah don't know what's gonna happen when we get Rahne _back_…" she muttered. "Ah mean…are we just gonna leave? You guys got a _war_ to fight here—it doesn't feel right that we'd just leave yah to fight it yourselves."

"Well…" said Severus, looking at her carefully. "You have to think if it's something that you and your…er…_X-Men_ should be involved with. At first it wasn't—it wasn't your war. But then, of course, you have to factor in the fact that one of your own has been taken by one side of the 'war'," he said evenly.

"Ah can understand that the X-Men might think that this isn't our war—but they haven't seen it like me," Rogue sighed, finally taking a sip of the warm chocolate drink. She was more than just a little surprised when she suddenly felt better after she had, like the warmth from the drink was spreading throughout the rest of her body as well. "Ah've seen those women, and Ah've heard all a' the stuff they were talkin' about, with the Death Eaters and everything…and these people 'ave got to be stopped!" she said forcefully. "How do you _do_ it?"

"Do what?" asked Severus tiredly. "'Fight the good fight', as they say? I honestly don't know—and my job is much the same as yours now, playing the part of a spy. But you forget that at one point I was on the _other_ side—I _believed_ in the dark arts. I suppose that's the real reason I went back to spying when Dumbledore asked me to—I wanted to strike back at the wrong way that I used to live my life."

"Well…Ah used to be on the 'bad guy' side too…" said Rogue, her frown growing. "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants…enemies of the X-Men, and anyone else that opposed us…but even then, mah heart wasn't into it and Ah left 'em of my own accord when I saw that tha' X-Men were better for me. But the fight that _we_ fight…it seems natural to me! The Brotherhood—what remains of it, anyways—or Apocalypse…and the even the Phoenix when it wasn't readily bonding well with Jean…"

"That's because those are the fights that you're naturally involved with, because of your mutation," Severus shrugged. "As a mutant that this Professor Xavier of yours found, it became your life to repel against the forces that defied him. I suppose it's the same for the Order of the Phoenix. We each have our wars—it's just that the wizarding war is more _defined_."

"And it ain't ours to fight…is it?" asked Rogue with a sigh, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "But Ah can't just _leave_ it, either. It's so…so…_infuriating_ to see all that's going on with the Death Eaters, but Ah know that there's nothing Ah can do about it without lettin' 'em know Ah'm a spy!" she grumbled. "Ah can't just leave this—Ah can't just leave this when I know that Voldemort's still out there…"

"What are you trying to say?" asked Severus, cocking a brow. "Are you trying to—"

"Ah have to see it through," said Rogue, opening her eyes and looking at him determinedly. "This is gonna sound lame, but Ah won't be able to leave any a' this until the war's over—_however_ it's gonna end. If things get any worse, then it's gonna be the whole world's problem anyway…an' Ah'm not goin' anywhere until it's all over."


	21. A Dark Interlude

**A/N:** Wow, I'll bet you guys were starting to give up hope on getting an update. Here it is, kind of a short chapter, but I'm not going to lie: I've had so much work that I've been buried under. I'm enrolled in three _extremely_ reading intensive courses and I'm barely keeping myself afloat that I haven't had much time to work on any of my fictions. On the upside, I'm adjusting to the workload and am finding free time to write from time to time.

About every two weeks or so . . .

Ugh. College.

So yeah, this is a chapter written by yours truly. As always: Enjoy! Oh, and I have a feeling that I'll be getting a lot of reviews about a certain character still being alive. Trust me; she was alive at the end of the series. Don't believe me, look it up. I would suggest the web site: Beyond Evolution.

Cheers!

* * *

Chapter 21: A Dark Interlude

It was a strangely warm autumn day in the laid-back area of Caldecott County, Mississippi. It was early afternoon, but the inhabitants were wont to close up shop early and take a quick, little _siesta._ Even the mighty Mississippi River on the western side of the county seem to be drifting lazily downstream, almost as though it didn't want to empty into the gulf.

In this sleepy little burg, there was one woman who felt restless.

Irene Adler anxiously stood on her front porch with her walking stick. She felt something was wrong, but she wasn't able to put her finger on it. There had been a looming shadow of fear and concern building in the back of her mind for over a month now, but whatever was causing this to arise remained out of the precognitive mutant's mind.

If she were forced to describe it, she would have to say that the whole world felt . . . wrong.

"Two futures," she mumbled to herself, "There's only supposed to be two outcomes in this world . . ." The woman known as Destiny suddenly fell into a fit. Her whole body trembled and shook. Her cane fell to the floor with a loud clatter, and she soon followed it. She wanted to cry out from the overwhelming vision, but all she could muster was a choked gargle. The fit continued for only a moment more, and when it had passed, Irene groped about for her cane and gasped for air.

"So strong, so vivid, so . . ." she hesitated as her fingers finally came to rest on her cane, "wrong. This is all wrong! How could this have happened? Oh Xavier! You fool!" Tears slowly trickled down the older woman's face from behind her dark glasses. She stood slowly and grabbed the railing of the front porch.

"Irene? Are you alright?" a familiar voice called from inside the house. Irene heard the front screen door open and snap shut and then footsteps across the front porch. A pair of comforting arms wrapped around her waist.

"No, Raven, I'm not," Irene choked out, "Everything has gone wrong!"

"What do you mean? How? Why?" Irene could hear the deadly sternness come out in Mystique's voice as she asked the questions.

"It's Rogue," Irene stated simply and she could feel the body behind her tense as the arms were removed from around her waist.

"Tell me everything now."

XXXXXXXX

Rogue slumped into her seat at the Staff Table in an undignified manner. Frankly she didn't care what the other staff members or students thought of her or her behavior at that particular time. She stared out over the student body when her eyes locked onto the Hufflepuff table. In particular she glared at the young Jacob McGinnis.

If looks could kill, the poor boy would be dead a hundred times over.

He knew that she wanted to kill him, but he knew that would be considered _illegal_. She _knew_ that he knew she couldn't do a damn thing about his idiocy, so she was forced to be content with sending a murderous glare in his specific direction and growl under her breath.

Snape found this to be completely hilarious and could hardly contain the laughter that (he was sure) would soon be bursting out of his mouth at any moment. He had become quite impressed, and quite close, with the girl who was better known as Rogue to the muggle world. She was quick witted, intelligent, and sharp as a knife. She didn't trust easily, which didn't bother him because he didn't either. They had been at the masquerade as teacher and apprentice for nearly three weeks and things were going smoothly as she opened up more. He had learned some about her past, but she had been vague about specifics, especially the time before she joined the Brotherhood. But her deciding not to disclose much of her past to him wasn't merely just a trust issue (if he had any say he wouldn't have let her know anything about his past) but it was more of a safety precaution. He may have been able to keep his mind protected from Voldemort, but if the Dark Lord so desired, he could break Severus's mind in the blink of an eye.

Snape shuttered at the thought.

"How d'ya keep from killin' 'em?" Rogue asked as she took a sip from her goblet. Snape snickered.

"Patience, Miss D'Ancanto," he replied as Umbridge walked in and he glared, "However there are some I have no patience for." Rogue grunted in agreement as she too glared at the toad like woman.

Only a few short days after Rogue had joined the staff, Umbridge had been appointed as "High Inquisitor." Since then, she had been making the life for the teachers a living nightmare. She was inspecting classrooms, writing evaluations, and clearing her throat in an attempt for teachers to think twice about their teaching styles. To Rogue it didn't matter much, but for the other teachers it was a serious deal, and it meant their jobs if "The Toad" didn't like something. Rogue watched in amusement as Minerva glared at the woman who sat beside her and chuckled to herself. Unfortunately, "The Toad" heard her.

"Is there something funny, Miss D'Ancanto?" She asked after doing her typical _hem, hem_. Rogue resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Whay of course not, ma'am," Rogue replied with a smile, "Nothin' at all . . ." Rouge was interrupted when someone unfamiliar entered the hall drawing the attention of the entire room to her. She was short and stout, but no where to the extent of Umbridge, her brown hair was pulled back in a long braid, but fly away hairs gave her a frazzled appearance. She had on nice dark blue robes that slightly trailed on the floor behind her and she had a large roll of parchment in her hands. Rogue watched in fascination as the witch approached the staff table. Something about the way that she walked and carried herself seemed familiar . . . head up . . . shoulders back . . . confident . . . in command . . .

"Professor Umbridge," the woman addressed the professor, "I have the files you requested." The witch then handed the large roll of parchment to Umbridge. Umbridge thanked the woman who was inspecting the staff. When her eyes fell on Rogue she arched an eyebrow. "Please, Delores, tell me she is not a member of the staff." Rogue felt a surge of anger rise in her, but forced it down quickly.

"Ah, yes, Tabitha," Delores said looking at Rogue, "That is the apprentice Severus has taken on, Miss Anna Marie D'Ancanto." The woman's eyes went wide for a moment before she regained her cool appearance, but not before Rogue saw the momentary panic in those eyes. _Nah, it couldn't be her . . . I thought she was dead . . ._

Rogue held out her hand for Tabitha to shake. It was more of a test, because Rogue had her disillusioned gloves on making it appear as though she had no gloves on. If Tabitha hesitated . . .

"A pleasure t'meetcha," Rogue said with a benign smile. The woman hesitated and looked at Rogue's hand before taking it warily and shaking it firmly. Even though Rogue had a pleasant smile on her face, one vile thought circled around her mind.

_Tha' bitch._

"Likewise, Miss D'Ancanto," Tabitha replied with a forced smile, "It's always nice to meet such a dedicated young woman. I'm sure Destiny has much in store for you." The two continued shaking hands while Rogue's mind raced.

_What does Irene have t'do with any of this?_

"Well, ma'am," Rogue said gripping "Tabitha's" hand tighter, "Tha's the funneh thing 'bout Destiny. It's got a certain _mystique_ 'round it. Nobody really knows what's gonna happen in the future." Rogue released Tabitha's hand and locked eyes with the woman. For the briefest moment they flashed yellow as if to say 'touché' before changing back to a dull brown color. The staff members watched this exchange curiously, and Severus knew for certain that something was up, but he didn't know what.

"Well, Delores," Tabitha said without taking her eyes off of Rogue, "I must be getting back to the office. Owl me if you need anything else . . ."

"Whay don't ya allow meh t'show ya t'the door?" Rogue asked with a sugary sweetness to her voice that hid the venom that was in it. Tabitha smiled.

"Why thank you, dear," the elder woman said with a smile, "Please lead the way." Rogue smiled and started out of the Great Hall with Tabitha right behind her. As Severus watched them leave, he felt the strong urge to follow them. Dumbledore must have sensed this because he held a hand out to Severus to stop him from rising from his chair. He then leaned towards the Potions Master.

"Don't Severus," Dumbledore said softly, "I could tell that was not the Tabitha Harker that Delores assumed it to be. If it is someone Anna Marie knows, she must deal with it now and without interference."

"With all do respect," Snape hissed at Dumbledore, "Anna has filled me in on some of the events of her life. If this is someone from her past, I would wager that she does not mean her well."

"We shall have to see," Dumbledore replied, "The only way to deal with skeletons of the past is to face them head on."

XXXXXXX

When Rogue reached the front doors of the school she stopped. She could hear Tabitha's footfalls stop as well. Rogue couldn't help but laugh dryly as she turned to confront the woman who had made the first part of her life a living nightmare. The woman still held the form of the witch she had before, but Rogue could see right through the façade.

"You've gained control over your powers," a familiar voice sounded from the body of Tabitha that was unbefitting for her appearance. Rogue could recognize that voice any where.

"No Ah haven't," Rogue replied and pulled off the invisible gloves, "Mah powahs are still as uncontrollable as the day ya met meh. Thanks ta Snape, the gloves aren't noticible anymore."

"My, you have grown up," Tabitha continued, "You are much more mature than when you left the Brotherhood. I can see it in your eyes, the way you walk. Xavier's house seems to have done you well . . ."

"Cut the bullshit, Mystique," Rogue snarled angrily, "Whay did ya come here?" Tabitha chuckled darkly before her form started to change. She grew slimmer, and slightly taller; her hair changed from brown to red, her skin from white to blue, and her eyes from brown to yellow. Without hesitation, Rogue grabbed Mystique's clothing clad upper arm and dragged her into an empty classroom nearby then shutting and locking the door.

"I see your blunt personality has remained intact despite Xavier's best efforts . . ."

"Raven," Rogue glared at the woman, "Tell meh whay you're here now, or Ah will drag it out of ya forcefully." She held up her bare hand. Mystique sighed tiredly and looked at the girl who could have been her daughter had things played out differently.

"Rogue, you have to leave this place now," Mystique said nearly emotionless, "You weren't meant to be here. You're life is in grave danger." Rogue was a bit taken aback by this but knew better than to be completely shocked.

"What did Irene say?" To Rogue's confusion, Raven started to laugh.

"If it were only as simple as what Destiny had to say," Mystique said shaking her head, "but it's not. Rogue, you are not supposed to be here. You are not supposed to be in this war. You were never meant to know about this world and its struggles." Rogue cocked her head to one side.

"Ah don't understand."

"Foolish girl! The X-men weren't supposed to come to London over the summer!" Mystique shouted, "Something has thrown the natural course of things off its track. After the fall of Apocalypse, Destiny foresaw two futures: A future where Xavier's dream became actualized and another where it didn't. Those were supposed to be the only two courses (plus their variants) the world could take, and when you came to England you threw everything off its course. X-23 wasn't meant to join the X-men, Rahne was never meant to find her parents, and you were never supposed to be a spy . . ."

"So what, Mystique?" Rogue asked enraged, "Whay d'ya give a damn now? Who cares what Destiny saw and if what's happenin' now is supposed to happen or not. All that matters is that Ah'm here and Ah'm doin' this. End of story . . ."

"Rogue if you continue like this you'll . . ."

"Ah'll what, Raven?" Rogue glared at the blue skinned mutant, "Ah've not only released Apocalypse, but Ah also locked him away again. Ah am not defenseless, Ah can handle mahself."

Silence resonated in the room for a brief moment as the two stared each other down. Mystique opened her mouth and spoke very slowly.

"I see that I can't change your mind," she said with her voice cracking with some unknown emotion, "but if you continue on this course of madness, heed this warning. You. Are. Going. To. Die. Destiny sees no way for you to avoid it if you continue down this path. If I were you, I'd cut my losses and get out while I still had the chance."

Silence resonated once more.

"Well, Mystique," Rogue said hotly, "Ah guess that's whay you're a terrorist an' not an X-man. Ah will continue, and Ah will fight until Rahne is safe with us again. Now get the hell outta here. Mah mind is made up." Mystique shook her head sadly and looked at Rogue earnestly.

"I always considered you to be a daughter to me," she said morosely before opening a window, "As much as I hate to admit it, I can almost be proud of the young woman you have become." Rogue stood shell-shocked as Mystique transformed into a raven and flew out the open window. Even after the raven had vanished from sight, Rogue continued to stand there considering all that Mystique had just told her. When she finally pulled out of her state, she went over and latched the window close.

She had nearly made it back to the Great Hall when the gravity of Mystique's message hit her full force. If Destiny was right, she was going to die in this wizarding war. It was a fight that wasn't even her own, and her life would be taken in it. Was that right? Was that even fair?

What was she thinking? She wasn't going to let Mystique's words turn her from her cause. Sure, it may not have been her fight in the beginning, but it was now. Voldemort had shown no remorse in enslaving and abusing the powers of mutants. If the good side of wizarding world lost, there's no doubt that Voldemort would have set his sights on the muggle world (which included mutants) for his next conquest. Her mind had been made up and she was going to stick with that decision.

Even if it meant dying.

With her head held high, Rogue confidently strode back into the Great Hall and retook her seat next to Severus. He looked at her expectantly, but she simply shook her head. She wasn't going to explain what had happened where people could overhear.

"Very well then," Severus said curtly, "Dumbledore would like to see you in his office after the meal. We are expecting an explanation, Anna Marie." Rogue nodded, amazed at how the staff had noticed the interaction, and yet the student body seemed to be completely oblivious.

Sure, she'd explain _some _of what had transpired to them. But parts, such as the news of her death, she'd keep to herself. If they knew that little bit of information, there's no way they would continue letting her do the spy bit. But she was beginning to think that she was too far in for them to pull her out now.

XXXXXXXX

"My Lord, the preparations have been made," the servant said meekly to the seated figure of Lord Voldemort.

"Good," he replied coldly, "I want Weasley gone as soon as possible. He is a blood traitor and deserves nothing less than death."

"H-h-h-however, My Lord," the servant stuttered nervously, "The earliest the Death Eaters will be able to attack him is October 31st." The Dark Lord began to laugh uproariously.

"How poignant!" he exclaimed, "Oh, poor little Harry! Not only having to deal with the anniversary of the death of his parents, but with the death of his friend's father as well."

"Then this pleases you, sir?"

Voldemort was about to reply when a low hiss from the floor stopped him from answering. He looked down at his pet, Nagini. They hissed and spat at each other for several minutes before Voldemort turned back to his servant.

"If Nagini were to go in the stead of my Death Eaters, could we push the attack up further? She has pointed out to me the urgency of misleading the Potter boy, and reminded me of the true mission at stake."

"I . . . uh . . ." the Death Eater looked at the parchment notes in his hands, "I am sorry, My Lord, the earliest we can get Arthur Weasley into a position to attack him is Halloween." Voldemort put a slender hand to his face as he took everything into consideration and had a look of intense thought on his face.

"Very well," he said eventually, "the attack on the blood traitor will occur on Halloween, but I want Nagini to attack him. Not a Death Eater. I dare say she'll be more efficient . . ."

"Very well, My Lord," the servant replied and bowed out of the room. Voldemort sat back in his seat and Nagini affectionately wrapped herself around his legs.

"Well, my pet," Voldemort said extending a hand for her to use to slither up his arm, "You shall have this chance, but be cautious. If I know that muggle lover Dumbledore, he'll have already suspected my plans. After that fool, Malfoy, managed to have my diary destroyed I _cannot_ afford to loose you . . ." Nagini hissed in agreement and silence fell over the Lord Voldemort's chambers.


	22. Envy?

**Note from Jinxeh:** Hola! Aloha! Guten tag! Or…Guten Morgen, for that matter! Yeah…I'm hyper, and also just a _teensy_ bit hopped up on my medication for a severe sinus infection so…yeah. I wrote this chapter while under the influence of my meds, so I apologize if it's disjointed or anything. One the plus side, I just got done watching one of the X-Men: Evolution show DVDs so I was pretty inspired as I wrote this, especially since Rahne was a main character in one of the shows. XD. Okay, I'm going to go fall asleep under the kitchen table now. Enjoy the chapter!

**Note from Alexis:** I really don't have anything to add. Just felt like throwing my two cents in. It really is an awesome chapter, be sure to let us know what you think in the form of reviews!

* * *

Chapter 22: Envy? 

Rogue was beginning to really despise the way that Professor Dumbledore's eyes always seemed to pierce through her when he looked at her. He was like Professor Xavier in that way; he could make any of them feel uncomfortable even when he didn't mean to. As was the situation now, after dinner, as Rogue sat in one of the chairs in front Albus Dumbledore's desk in his circular office, as Severus Snape sat uneasily next to her while the headmaster looked between them.

"Miss. D'Ancanto, it was apparent to both Severus and I that you knew the woman that was posing as Tabitha earlier," Professor Dumbledore was saying rather sternly, peering at the young woman intently over his half-moon glasses. "Is this something that we should be _concerned_ about?"

"Ah sincerely doubt it, Professah Dumbledore," said Rogue with an extraordinarily forced smile. Next to her, she heard a small noise of disbelief come from Severus, which she chose to ignore. "But you're right, of course, that it was someone Ah know. She was…maybe is…an enemy to tha X-Men…but we thought 'er to be dead before. Tha' fact that she 'asn't tried anything since 'er 'death' is enough tah make me believe she ain't much of a threat to me right now . . ."

She was lying through her teeth, and a part of her was sure that both of the men in the room with her knew this. The many portraits hanging in the room—or at least the ones whose occupants weren't snoozing in their frames—showed the unsure faces of past headmasters and headmistresses looking down at her. She tried to ignore them as well.

"What could someone from your past be doing here at Hogwarts?" asked Snape disbelievingly, causing her to look over at him. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that there was…concern…to be seen in his dark, usually emotionless eyes…

"She likes to play around like that," muttered Rogue darkly, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat, uncaring of how she acted now that there were no students or other teachers around that she needed to act dignified for. "She's a shapeshifter mutant," she explained, upon seeing their rather perplexed expressions. "Also…she kinda adopted me when Ah was around four or so, so she likes to think a' me like she's my mother, as creepy as that gets…"

This was certainly news to both of the men—she could tell by the rather surprised looks exchanged between the both of them that they hadn't been expecting her to say _that_.

"So…she came here on…friendly…intentions, despite her being a past enemy of your X-Men?" asked Dumbledore after a moment, coughing slightly and folding his hands atop the polished surface of his desk. Rogue shrugged.

"Hard tah tell with her. She didn't try to _hurt_ me or anything if that's what you're askin'. She beat around the bush a bit, but really…Ah think she just came 'ere to see if Ah was all right and stuff…doubt that's the last Ah'll be seein' of 'er, though," she added darkly. Snape blinked.

"You think she will try to contact you again?"

"Probably," answered Rogue with yet another shrug. Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Tell me, Miss. D'Ancanto…" he began quietly. "What exactly is it that this mutant…"

"Mystique," Rogue answered dryly, able to sense that he wanted an actual name to go with the mystery woman. He blinked at the unusualness of it, but continued nevertheless.

"Ah…yes, this…_Mystique_…what exactly was it that she said to you that caused you to walk back into the Great Hall with such anxiety on your face? I must say, I don't think I have ever seen you so _pale_…"

This was the part that Rogue had been dreading, and she was sure that they must have been able to see this on her face. She had been thinking about what Mystique had said to her ever since her words had first reached her ears; she wouldn't be able to get them out of her mind for a long time, if ever. Rogue knew that the men would have wanted a straight answer, and she hated to have to tell them otherwise…but her mind was made up.

She was in this war for the long haul. She wasn't going to jeopardize her ability to serve in it by telling them the truth. She feared what would happen if they found out about Destiny's vision, and knew that they would be apprehensive about letting her continue with her spy game if they knew the truth. She forced a smile upon her face and faced Dumbledore with a sure expression.

"She was concerned about meh," she said with yet another short shrug of one shoulder. "She was frightened Ah'd get hurt or somethin', and was tellin' me to go home. There wasn't any basis to it. She was just bein'…herself, really."

She forced herself not to cringe as she felt Dumbledore's piercing eyes upon her once again, almost feeling like he too was a psychic professor and was searching her mind to see if he could locate the truth. It wasn't until ages later that his eyes left her in favor of looking at Snape instead. She fought back the sigh of relief that had been forming in the back of her throat.

"I see," said Dumbledore personally, giving Snape a firm _look_ when the younger man had opened his mouth to say something. "All right then. If there is nothing else that you need to tell us…"

"Nothin', Professor."

"All right," he said again, clearing his throat. "Be on the lookout for this woman nonetheless, Miss. D'Ancanto. If any problems should arise, please feel free to tell us about it."

"Ah will, Professor."

"Now then, on a…_lighter_ matter, I suppose, with the weekend coming up, your teammates have been requesting that you visit them at Grimmauld Place," continued Dumbledore with a rather fixed smile. Rogue instantly brightened, and leaned forward in her seat. "I dare say that—unless Severus has something else for you to attend to—that it might be in your best interests to give yourself a reprieve from the stress of working and go visit them. I believe they've been meaning to personally talk to you about something as well, so it is ideal, really."

"Sounds good," said Rogue with a slight sigh, sounding sincere about it. "Ah could use a break. It'd be nice to see 'em all again too…is there anythang else, Professor?" she asked, sounding hopeful that there wasn't as she looked between Dumbledore and Snape. Severus said nothing, and Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, that will be all, Miss. D'Ancanto," he said with a slight smile. "You may go."

She did so without delay, forcing a smile upon her lips as she looked between the two and getting out of her seat, waving an offhand sort of goodbye over her shoulder before she exited the room. The second the door had closed and Severus was sure she was out of earshot, he turned back to his employer with a grim frown on his sallow face.

"She's lying," he said bluntly, shaking his head in dismay. Dumbledore nodded gravely, looking at the door across the room with a deep sigh, as though expecting her to suddenly come bursting through it again, admitting what she had been so cautious in lying about before.

"Yes, she is," said the elder headmaster heavily. "Whatever this woman told her—it frightened her. I must say…she had little coloration in her features before, but as she spoke she was almost _white_ in the face. She's absolutely _terrified_."

"Then why won't she admit what's wrong?" asked Snape in slight aggravation, rising from his seat and walking away from the desk a few steps before he turned to face Dumbledore once more, a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "If it was something important—like something about her kidnapped mutant friend, or something that would be detrimental to the Order if we didn't know about it—she would have told us, wouldn't she have?"

"I believe so, yes," said the older man with a nod. "She is a very proud woman, and also not one that I believe would respond well to threats. If this woman that visited her threatened her not to tell of what she knew, I very much doubt that Miss. D'Ancanto would have listened. No, I think this has to be something personal to her that frightens her so…"

"So…should we just leave it be?" asked Snape unsurely, cocking an eyebrow as he looked to Dumbledore. "It could be dangerous to Anna, perhaps…"

To Snape's surprise, Dumbledore only had a smile to offer him. Slowly, he rose from his own seat and strode around the side of the desk until he was standing next to the younger man, where he clapped a hand loosely on his shoulder. The twinkle in his eyes seemed to have increased threefold, if that were at all possible. Snape blinked.

"What is it?" he asked in slight aggravation as Albus let his hand fall from his shoulder as he walked away without a single word to describe his knowing smile. Albus turned and put his hands behind his back, surveying the younger man in minor amusement.

"Severus…_believe_ me that it is perfectly natural to feel concern for those that we care about. It's understandable that you would want to make _sure_ that Miss. D'Ancanto is in no real danger…but you have to remember that right now, we are _all_ in danger," he sighed, the twinkle sparking from his eyes for a small moment as his smile faltered as Snape simply stood there, stunned. "And we all will be until this war is over. And Miss. D'Ancanto, I'm afraid, has one of the more dangerous duties out of all of us with the exception of you. But she has managed to keep a firm head and a strong mind nevertheless. So whatever it is that frightens her so…I believe that she can handle it on her own. Now, if you will excuse me…"

And with that, he turned and began to walk away again, heading for the doorway with firm steps.

"I don't…I don't _care_ for her…"

"Severus…" Albus sighed again once he had reached the door and opened it, before he looked over his shoulder to the man who had yet to move. "In case you have not noticed this…you are the _only_ person that refers to her as simply Anna. Not even her X-Men seem to have _that_ privilege."

He left the room without another word, allowing for the door to close behind him, leaving a rather confused Severus Snape to stand alone in the middle of his circular office.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The weekend didn't seem to come quickly enough, in Rogue's opinion. The rest of the school week seemed to drag by _twice_ as slowly as it normally did, to where she found herself almost counting down the minutes until the school day would official end on that Friday afternoon. She couldn't wait to get to Grimmauld Place. For some reason, she found that the remainder of the week she had been working at Hogwarts to be…strange, and she also found that she didn't like that. The students, in her opinion, seemed even more lackluster than usual, the classes seemed to stretch on and on…and not only that, but Severus Snape was acting even more distant than usual towards her…

When Friday afternoon finally came around, she was more than eager to use the fire grate in Professor McGonagall's office to floo to Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Roguey!"

Remy seemed all-too-delighted when Rogue suddenly appeared in the fire grate in the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, late that Friday afternoon as he sat at the table and sipped some hot chocolate from a mug (He had been hoping for something stronger, but Sirius Black had gotten wise to him and had hidden his stash of Firewhiskey, unfortunately enough) He happened to be the only person in the kitchen at the time, and so he wasted no time in jumping to his feet and sauntering over to her with a hearty grin on his face as she coughed and brushed soot off of her robes.

The next thing that Rogue knew after she had stepped out of the warm green flames that had once been all around her, a pair of strong arms was suddenly wrapped around her and she was lifted off of her feet, the air practically being squeezed out of her by a laughing Cajun man. Luckily for him, he was doing a good job of avoiding her exposed neck and face.

"Remy! Let meh _down, _yah swamp rat!" she laughed, hitting his shoulder the best she could as he held her a good two feet off of the ground, her legs and booted feet dangling helplessly. A moment later he had let her down, none-too-gently either, before he suddenly grabbed the ends of her sleeves (he saw that it didn't look like she was wearing gloves at the moment) and twirled her around in a circle the best he could in the rather cramped space between the table and fire grate. "Jeez, Remy! What's got _you_ in such a lovable mood?"

"Why _you_, cherie!" Remy laughed, finally letting her go and then stepping back as she got her balance back, his arms crossed as he looked her up and down. "_Damn_, Rogue! Remy barely _recognize_ you, dressin' in dose robes like dat!"

"Yeah, nice to see you too, swamp rat," Rogue commented dryly, looking around the kitchen in surprise. "Where is everyone?"

"Pointy Claw-Man and his mini-me are upstairs doin' their exercises, Jean is sleepin'—she's sleeps a lot in de day; got pretty nocturnal recently—an' Visor-Boy an' Metal-Man are upstairs, helpin' De Lupin fella', Dog-Man, an' Mrs. Weasley clean out some of de extra bedrooms," Remy counted the whereabouts of the others currently occupying Grimmauld Place on his fingers and then grinned at Rogue. "What brings _you_ here?"

"Dumbledore said that you wanted to speak with me," said Rogue tiredly, walking over to the table and sitting down in one of the seats gratefully. "I'm guessin' it's about Magneto too, huh?"

"Oh…yeah, dat…" the smile suddenly faltered from Remy's face, and he found himself shaking his head in dismay as he sat across from her at the table, offering her his half-filled cup of hot chocolate, which she declined. "Yeah, judgin' from your letter, you aren't any happier 'bout it than I am…" he shook his head once more, as though to clear it. "But whatever—we all gonna talk about dat later, as a group. No use frettin' 'bout it now…"

"Suppose not," Rogue sighed, kneading her temples with her knuckles as she rested her elbow on the tabletop, an expression of deep aggravation on her face. She had a headache—which really wasn't shocking. She'd been suffering from headaches ever since…well, ever since the arrival of Mystique to Hogwarts, incidentally. Rogue had had enough on her mind recently—Raven had only added to her confusion and aggravation by telling her of Destiny's vision… "So what've Ah been missin' 'round the X-Men side a' things?"

"Nothin' new," said Remy with a devilish smirk. "Logan's still tryin' to get clone-girl to go back to de States but she won't budge, Cyclops is still comin' up wit' gameplans for…you know, gettin' Rahne back…and…dat's about it," he sighed. "Y'know, we ain't gonna get any closer to findin' Rahne if we don't got nothin' to go on…"

"Ah know," said Rogue with a slight wince. "Ah keep hopin' that I'll be invited to somethin' else by some a' them stupid Death Eater women…or that the Voldemort guy'll call on me again…y'know, _somethin'_ that'll get me a little closer to findin' out about Rahne!" she fumed angrily, letting her hands drop to the table and away from her head. "But nothin', so far. If those goes on any longer, Ah'm just gonna say 'screw it' and torture that Draco Malfoy whelp for information…"

"Er…"

"He's a student at the school," Rogue sighed. "Death Eater parents. Ah just know he's gotta know _somethin'_ bout all this…"

"If yah need any help wit' dat, just let me know," said Remy darkly, shaking his head as though to clear it. "Y'okay, cherie? Yah look a little more tired than usual…"

"Yeah, Ah'm a teacher now, remember? Ah'm startin' to understand what Logan and the others had to go through when we were younger…" she groaned, rubbing her temples again. "And Ah keep gettin' headaches, as if that weren't enough…"

Rogue had a pretty good idea of why it was that she was having headaches. Even though the thoughts of both Tonks and Snape had long since begun to fade from her mind, therefore almost clearing her of having to put up with their own thoughts and opinions as well as her own, she still had to worry about all of the things that were still going on around her. Never before had she gone on or been involved with a 'mission' that was taking this long. And never before had things become so complicated along the way.

She'd never been told that she was going to die, with certainty, if she continued with something. In the older days, she might have abided by this and would have stepped away, depending on the situation. But now…it was too late. She was in too deep, and had pledged herself to fighting in this war no matter what happened to her in the end. It wasn't only for her, either…it was for Rahne, and she had to keep reminding herself of that fact. So much had happened, what with her, Rogue, becoming a teacher and also a spy, and all of this stuff with the magical world, and now Mystique and Destiny…Rogue had almost forgotten that all of this had started because of the kidnapping of one, single mutant girl. And she had almost forgotten as well that she was in this to _save_ Rahne…

'_God…Ah don't know how much longer Ah can take this_…' Rogue groaned inwardly, almost cringing as Remy's red-on-black eyes seemed to pierce through her own green ones, like he knew what she was thinking. He was frowning; never a good sign. She knew better than to assume that he was just some foolish Cajun mutant that only cared about having a good time; she knew that Remy was smarter than most people thought, and he was also perhaps more perceptive than could be originally assumed as well. He always seemed to know when something was wrong…

"Somethin' you're not sayin'?" he asked unsurely, cocking his head to the side and looking at her with a rather strange expression upon his young, scruffy face. "Yah look a little preoccupied, there…"

"That's an understatement," commented Rogue dryly, running a hand limply through her hair before her hand fell down to the table once more, slapping against the wooden surface. "What're you, a psychic now?"

"It ain't really hard to see dat you're worried 'bout somet'ing," said Remy with a small shrug. "More worried den usual, anyways. Not'ing goin' on wit' dat spy game you're playing, is dere?" he asked, his red-on-black eyes seemed like they could stab right through her mind. She almost shuddered. She didn't know what was worse, between the stares she went through with Xavier, Dumbledore, or Remy…

"Not much," Rogue muttered, then suddenly turning to Remy with widened green eyes. "Hey…stupid question, but since you guys've heard from…ugh…Magneto and all that…ya'll haven't heard nothin' 'bout Mystique too, have you?"

"Mystique?" Remy nearly yelped the name, eyes also widened as he looked across the table to her. "What de hell you _think_? She went bye-bye over de _cliff_, remember?"

"Oh…" said Rogue in slight disappointment, furrowing her brow and looking at him with a rather tired expression. It was eating her up inside by now; none of the other X-Men seemed to realize that Mystique was back—she shuddered to think of what she was going to tell Kurt later—meaning that Rogue was the only one that the older mutant woman had dared to come in contact with. She sighed. If she had to keep this whole thing to herself anymore, she wasn't going to be able to take it much longer. What Mystique had told her was ebbing away inside of her—she was going to burst if she didn't tell someone about it.

"Listen, Remy…" she said quietly, rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably. "Ah probably shouldn't be telling anyone this…an' you gotta _swear_ not to tell anyone _else_ about it…but Ah saw Mystique at Hogwarts. And…she kinda told me some things…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Molly Weasley answered the door in order to let Severus Snape inside of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, she didn't linger long after shutting the door behind him once more. Muttering something about the abysmal shape that one of the upstairs bedrooms was in, she left him again with barely the nod of her head and a slight smile in his direction, heading up the stairs with a violently pink feather-duster in her hand a moment later. Snape shook his head and continued on in the dark hall by himself, treading carefully so as not to accidentally wake up the sleeping portrait of Mrs. Black, which appeared to be sleeping soundly behind its curtains.

He wasn't completely sure yet as to what it was that he was even doing at Grimmauld Place right now. There was no meeting that he needed to attend to, and no Order member had called upon him to visit…and yet there he was anyways, walking quickly through the main hall and towards the kitchen, where he assumed that Anna Marie D'Ancanto was. It seemed that everyone gathered in that room, whether it was to talk or hold a meeting.

Really, he assured himself, he just wanted to make sure that his apprentice was all right. Dumbledore had been right when he had said that Rogue was clearly terrified by whatever it was that the Mystique woman had told her. She had been acting strangely ever since it had happened; she had been rather twitchy, paler than usual, and perhaps even more distant towards him than she ever had been before. Of course, granted, he hadn't exactly been opening the lines of communication himself, either…

He shook his head and continued on, walking down the ancient steps towards the basement-like kitchen and reaching the door in just a matter of seconds. He put a hand up to push the door in…but then paused and frowned, lowering it again when the sound of hushed voices reached his ears. Coming from inside the room, he could just make out two different, distinctive tones talking; one forceful and male, yet quiet all the same…and another, lighter one that was more familiar, and ringed with…sobs? Severus's frown only grew from there.

Deep down, he knew that it would most likely be best for him to leave right then and not intrude on whatever was going on in the kitchen. However, it had been fairly easy for him to recognize the female voice as that of Anna Marie D'Ancanto, and he found himself unable to walk away from that, especially now that he knew she was distressed, if she really was crying like he suspected she was. Biting his lip slightly, he put just one hand on the door and gently eased it open just a crack so he could barely see inside. To him, he wasn't spying—he was just trying to make sure everything inside of the kitchen was all right. At least, that was what he was telling himself.

Either way, it was fairly easy for him to see the scene inside of the kitchen. From where he stood, Rogue and the male X-Men friend of hers (what was his name again? It was rather like Lupin's first name…Remus? Remy? Yes, he was sure it was Remy…) were clearly in his sights, sitting on the same side of the table as they talked—or, in Rogue's case, cried.

Snape's dark eyes widened considerably when he saw the expression on her face; the way her eyes were red and puffy, and the tears that streamed down her pale cheeks. Even the way that the young man, with his reddish-bronze hair and deep, red-on-black eyes, had his arms around her (though he was being careful to avoid any of her exposed skin) comfortingly didn't seem to be reassuring her at all. She simply sobbed into his shoulder, muttering words that, from his distance, Snape couldn't understand, though Remy obviously could. The young Cajun man's replies were quick in coming to her, and seemed to be a mixture of both English and French, as far as Snape could tell.

For a small moment, Severus simply stood there, watching them as he fought himself not to walk in. He had never before seen Rogue look this distressed, and it was rather unsettled to be seeing her look this way right now. Briefly, he wondered if there was anything he could do for her—and then, just as quickly as he wondered that, he found himself mentally cursing himself.

'_This is none of your business_!' he thought to himself in a scolding sort of manner, letting the door shut softly again and backing away before turning on his heels and marching up the steps once more, his hands on the pockets of his billowing cloak. He tried to force himself to believe it that it wasn't any of his business… '_But why did she turn to him? She's my apprentice…if something is bothering her, then why hasn't she told me about it?_'

He walked down the corridor and towards the front door without another look over his shoulder towards the kitchen. Inside, he was trying to assure himself that this was nothing that should concern him—that Remy man was her friend, and had probably known her a hell of a lot longer than Snape did. Of course Rogue was going to go to him for comfort, and not him, Severus…

'_It makes sense. She's going to trust him with what's bothering her…not me…_'

He nearly groaned inwardly when the thought that perhaps he was bothered by this came to mind. He shook his head and reached the front door, making haste in opening it.

'_Bothered by it…that's preposterous…I'm not envious…not bothered by anything…_'

XXXXXXXXXX

Vallerie Greyback was alert; on edge, even, as she stalked along the dark and dank tunnels that had become her home. Covered in a mixture of soot, grime, and a large quantity of dried brown blood, she walked on all fours in an animalistic form that was almost unfamiliar to even her. Being able to take the form of a spindly, humanistic wildcat and also a rusty-colored wolf was something that, recently, she had been blending together to make what she was now—a great, feral beast of an animal, a very dark rusted color making up her fur, a long, furry tail swishing along behind her, and large hooked claws scraping the ground as she sauntered along. Her teeth were exposed as her long snout remained open, curved teeth protruding out in the open, sharp and forbidding. A large, wet nose sniffed the air as she walked along, a growl forming in the back of her throat.

She was hunting.

She rounded a sharp corner swiftly, jumping as she did and landing in a crouched position, her head almost down to the ground as the growl finally escaped from her throat and reverberated against the slimy stone walls, echoing down the long, dark corridor. She blinked, and lifted her head. There was no one there.

Her dark eyes narrowed, and she suddenly set off into a full out run, her tail still swishing behind her as she bolted forward, intent on following the scent that had just graced her sensitive nose. It had only been a small whiff, barely noticeable really…but she had sensed it and now she was after it. She knew who that scent belonged to. A murderous rage swept through her as she thought of him, only spurring her along and making her run even faster on all fours, trying her hardest not to slip on the slippery stone floor.

'_Find him…kill him…kill him_…' were the only coherent words that rang through her mind as she ran, another feral growl escaping her throat as she turned another corner, then finding herself entering a large, chamber-like room with high stone walls and a matching floor, an uneven rock ceiling above her furry head. At random intervals along the slightly curved walls were the dark openings that led to other tunnels in the underground lair that was her home. And right there, standing in the center of the chamber and looking at her with terror in his eyes, was her prey.

Remus Lupin.

She growled again, baring her curved fangs and suddenly rearing up on her hind legs, already changing forms. Soon enough, a spindly figure with large hands, with claws protruding from each finger was looking at the man, covered in rusty-colored, grime and blood-covered fur. If one didn't know any better, they might have sworn that an oddly-colored transformed werewolf was standing in the chamber now. The man's eyes widened.

"Rahne!" he croaked, putting his hands up in defense as she suddenly gave a low, feral growl and began to run towards him, claws extended and teeth exposed. "Rahne—_don't_—"

She didn't even pause to listen to anything that he had to say. When she was just a few feet away from him, she suddenly jumped agilely into the air and tackled him right to the ground, fastening her jaws over his throat and shutting him up in the only way that she knew how. When they fell onto the cold stone floor, she used her powerful jaws to crush his windpipe, her teeth sinking deep into his flesh until she reached bone. He wasn't moving anymore.

She gave a snort of annoyance as she suddenly found her entire snout covered in blood, which only got into her nose. She wagged her head back and forth wildly, though she didn't take her teeth away from his now mangled windpipe, tearing at his flesh and causing his neck to move this way and that until she heard a distinctive _snap_ sound coming from it. She growled again and let go, now sinking her claws into the dead man's chest and tearing at his skin until even his own clothing was red and bloody, and her hands and furry upper arms were covered in blood as well.

All of this seemed to take place in minutes to her, but in reality it had occurred in mere seconds. And Fenrir Greyback had enjoyed every single second of it that there was to see as he stood in the shadows off to the side in the large chamber. After watching this for a few more minutes, he suddenly sighed and clapped his hands together, stepping out of the shadows and towards his 'daughter' and the man she had just killed. Immediately after he had clapped his hands, Vallerie jumped up and away from the man, still snorting blood out of her nose in annoyance as she did.

"You did well, my daughter," said Fenrir in a pleased sort of voice, stopping next to the bloodied body and looking down at it with a frown. His wand came out of his cloak, and he waved it lazily over the dead man. A moment later, it had turned back into the original form it had been in before Greyback had transformed it—a slightly shaggy, gray-colored dog that Fenrir had brought down from the streets. It was indeed dead.

"When do I get ta' kill the real thing?" asked Vallerie in a hoarse tone of voice, already morphed back into her human form. Dark red blood covered her hands and her tattered shirtsleeves; her face was covered in it, and it dripped down her neck and onto her already stained and soiled shirt. Fenrir grinned when he looked up at her, enjoying being able to see her in this sort of a state.

"Soon," he promised her, waving his wand and causing the body of the dog to disappear, though the pools of blood that had been spreading around it remained behind. It was the forth animal that he had transformed that week for Vallerie to kill; this one had been a good one, too—Fenrir had gotten this one to talk, even if it had only been three words, two of which were the same. He had thought that the more realistic it was, the better it would be for his daughter to train with.

"I'll get to kill 'im?" asked Vallerie hopefully, her usually blank eyes alight with glee at the prospect. He nodded.

"You'll get to kill him," he said with a wicked grin. "And the time'll come soon enough, I promise it. The Dark Lord's gotta job to do at the Ministry soon, you know that. And if the blasted Order shows up, you know that Lupin fool will be there. And so will you and I," he almost chuckled. "You'll have him all to yourself. I'm _counting_ on you to kill him for me, Vallerie."

"I will, poppa," said Vallerie earnestly, her eyes upon the pools of blood as though entranced by them. Fenrir's grin only grew. The things that he had been teaching his 'daughter' about Remus Lupin had been enough to make her livid. Lupin had been described as a fool that fought against all of the things that he, Fenrir, and now Vallerie believed in so much. He was one of many obstacles in the Dark Lord's way. And because of that, he had to be destroyed.

Besides that fact…Fenrir could hardly wait to see what happened when Lupin drew out his wand only to see…his own daughter, ready to kill him. Remus wouldn't be able to kill Rahne, even if his own life was in danger. Fenrir was looking forward to seeing the Order man deal with that sort of a dilemma in actual battle. Even more than that, he was looking forward to seeing him die.

"Good," said Fenrir, putting a hand on Vallerie's shoulder and giving it an almost painful squeeze. "You'll do both me and the Dark Lord proud, I know you will."

Vallerie only had a wicked smile to give him in return. On the outside, with the blood from the dog coating her arms and splattered all over her face, she looked positively ecstatic in response to Fenrir's words of encouragement.

Inside, she was screaming.


	23. Halloween

**A/N:** Hey, look at this, I'm still alive! I'm so incredibly sorry about the long wait on this chapter. I'll be completely honest and say that I've had a wicked case of writer's block and incredibly busy. Since the last update, I've finished my first year of college, moved back to Indiana (for a week), then moved down to Alabama, got two jobs, and I still have no internet on my computer and I can only get online late at night when my mom brings her laptop home from work. Oh joy!

I know I've kept you all waiting long enough for this chapter, so I'll end this note here and let you get to the good stuff.

Read on, playas and (as always) enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 23: Halloween 

Logan deftly blocked a punch that Cadence had aimed at his head and countered it with a kick to the stomach sending her to the floor. She rebounded quickly and kicked the backs of his knees knocking him down to the floor with a loud crash. With a _snikt_ her two blades were out and at his throat. He looked up at her dumbfounded. With an angry grunt he nodded his head ever so slightly.

"You're getting slower," she said as she retracted her claws with a smile, "I think old age is finally catching up with you." She stood and held her hand out to pull him off the ground. He accepted it and stood with a grunt.

"I don't age," he replied with a smile, "You're fighting is better, much more controlled than it was before."

"That's a good thing, right?" Cadence asked as she opened the door into the hall and they exited.

"Yes it . . ." Logan began but stopped after he took a few quick sniffs. Cadence, sensing trouble copied his actions.

"What is that, Logan?" she asked curiously. Logan bristled before he quickly moved to the stairs.

"It's tears and sorrow pheromones," Logan replied as he quickly descended the stairs. He knew it was more than that, however, and knew that he had to quickly get to the kitchen. The scent marker was clearly that of Rogue and he wanted to know immediately what was making her so upset.

XXXXXXXXXX

Remy sat in the kitchen with a sobbing Rogue in his arms holding onto her for dear life. He couldn't fully process what she had just told him. She was going to die? No, that couldn't be. She was so young and so much life ahead of her, hopefully a life that included control of her powers and (hopefully) him. He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes, but fought back the urge to let them fall. Instead he focused on his secondary power, empathy, and let soothing, calming emotions take over Rogue to coax her tears.

"_Chere_," he murmured softly into her hair, "It's going t' be alright. I would never let anyt'ing happen t' ya." Rogue wiped away the tears streaming down her face.

"But ya cahn't stop this," she said tearfully, "it's goin' ta happen whethah ya or Ah lahke it or not."

"Not'ing is ever set in stone," he replied placing a chaste kiss on the top of her head, "We can stop dis. You'll see, everyt'ing will be alright." Rogue's tears had stopped and she looked up gratefully at Remy.

"Thank ya, Remy," she said as they connected eyes. They sat in silence for a few moments, the air charged between them.

"Rogue . . . Anna . . . I lo–"

"Stripes?" a voice distantly called as the kitchen door flung open. Logan entered and Cadence was trailing when they both stopped abruptly upon seeing the two so closely together. Logan, instead of being apologetic, was instantly on the offensive.

"What did you do now, Cajun?" he demanded looking at the unmoving man and the girl in his arms.

"Not'ing, _homme_," Remy protested covering for Rogue, "Rogue here is jus' worried 'bout the _petit_, I was comforting her." Logan grunted in response, not really agreeing or disagreeing with Remy. He then turned to look at Cadence.

"Go get the others, we need to have a nice long talk," he told her. Cadence nodded and left the room without making a sound. She returned a few moments later with Scott, Piotr, Jean, Sirius, Remus, and Molly all in tow. When Mrs. Weasley entered she looked around curiously.

"Did Severus come in here?" she asked wondrously. Everyone turned and looked at her. Rogue and Remy shook their heads.

"Nah," Rogue replied having completely regained her composure, "Ah haven't seen him since Ah left the school." Jean put a hand to her temple.

"He's not anywhere in the house," she said tiredly, "he must have left." Sirius's eyes narrowed.

"Wonder what he was up to?" he said suspiciously. Rogue couldn't help but roll her eyes at his suspicion.

"Look, Sirius," Rogue said flatly with her tears gone completely, "Ah know ya don't lahke the guy, but Ah am telling' ya that he is good. He's on our sahde, Ah have him up here, remembah?" She tapped her temple and looked at the older man.

"How do you–" he began but she cut him off.

"He can't hahde anythang from meh," Rogue replied, "Nobody can." This seemed to satisfy him and he stopped his protests. Logan, sensing that the argument was over, decided to get to business.

"As we all know," Logan began gruffly, "Eric has contacted Chuck and told him that he has met this Voldemort man during his first rise to power. Chuck has asked us to decide if we want him over here helping us or not . . ."

"I don't trust him," Scott said instantly causing some of the others to roll their eyes, "If anything his plans for mutant domination are to close to Voldemort's for pureblooded domination." Some of the other mutants nodded in agreement.

"What is it exactly that this guy does?" Sirius asked, "What I mean is, what are his abilities?" As Sirius asked this question, all the metal in the room started to tremble and Logan and Cadence completely froze up, unable to move.

"The ability to manipulate metal and various magnetic fields," a mellow voice answered from the door, "It comes in handy when I really don't feel like being attacked by the Wolverine and his clone." All eyes turned to the door and jaws dropped in shock. Standing there was an older man dressed in a formal business suit. His stature was tall and imposing and his white hair gave him a commanding look. One of his hands was extended out and aimed in the general direction of Logan and Cadence. Scott stood abruptly.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded putting a hand to his ruby glasses. Sensing trouble brewing the wizards went for their wands. Magneto sighed and shook his head.

"Charles decided that you were taking to long with a response and has entrusted me to aid this rescue mission," Magneto explained as he lowered his hand. Logan and Cadence shifted stiffly as Magneto released his hold on their adamantium skeletons. He held his hands up in a non-threatening gesture, "I met with Albus Dumbledore two days ago and he told me the location of the headquarters. He advised me to come today since you would all be here." He cast a quick glance at Rogue before he took a seat at the long table. The air in the room was tense and the silence that followed was charged. Jean let out an aggravated sigh.

"He's telling the truth," she replied massaging her temples, "he doesn't mean us or Rahne any harm." Logan grunted in response to this and took the seat across from the magnetic mutant.

"I believe Red," Logan said staring coldly at Erik, "But I would like to know what it was you did with this Voldemort guy."

"To be honest with you Logan, I only remember bits and pieces of my time with him," Erik replied, "I know for certain that we met quite randomly. After my argument with Charles, I left the United State and came to London before I met Raven and went to Germany. At the end of my first week here a group of muggers had attempted to rob me, but they were certainly in over their heads–"

"Basically you used your powers to beat them up," Logan growled in impatience.

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," Erik replied undaunted by the animalistic man's grumblings, "but a young man had seen me use my abilities and followed me back to my apartment. He introduced himself as Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was immensely curious about my abilities and inquired at great length about them. He continued visiting me for several weeks before he eventually asked me to help him."

"Help him with what?" Remus asked attempting to control his anger. Apparently he wasn't doing a good job because both Sirius and Molly shot him a worried look.

"I remember helping Tom build many structures," Erik answered Remus's question without a waver in his voice, "Safe houses I suppose . . . but I don't remember where any of these are. I know for certain I helped him construct an underground labyrinth, and an extensive one at that. Despite his protestations at the time, I realize now that he was using memory charms on me to alter my memory so I couldn't help bring him down. But there are a few memories I have retained and Charles has help to clarify some of them . . ."

"So you don't recall any of the locations of these safe houses?" Sirius tried again. Erik shook his head.

"I fear that is the case," he replied morosely, "Tom, however, did not wipe from my memories the layouts of these lairs; an oversight, and large mistake, on his part. Should we find them, we should have no trouble navigating them."

"Since you remember de layouts," Piotr asked his former employer slowly, "do you have any idea vhere he might be keepink Rahne?" Magneto was silent for a moment as he closed his eyes.

"Yes," he replied smoothly, "I-I believe that the primary function of the underground lair was to be a prison of sorts . . ." he lowered his head, "but sadly I only remember that it is underground and not the actual location."

Silence hung in the crowded kitchen for a few moments. Each person seemingly lost in there own thoughts about this new information. Not surprisingly, it was Molly Weasley who finally broke the silence.

"Is there anything else you remember from your time with . . . You-Know-Who . . . that you can remember? Anything that might help us in the war or to find Rahne?" Erik looked up at the red-haired woman.

"I do remember, vaguely, that he had me build a chamber completely from adamantium. No windows or doors, with a single pedestal in it. He put something in there and had me seal the chamber up. Whatever is in there, I am the only person on Earth who can get into that chamber," he looked at Molly critically, "Excuse me but what is your name?"

"Molly, Molly Weasley," she replied curiously. The relief that showed on Erik's face was guarded, but Logan noticed it.

"Got something on your mind?" he asked brazenly. Without taking his eyes off Molly, the older mutant responded.

"She looks familiar," Erik replied, "She reminds me of . . ." a dark look crossed his face, "never mind." The group exchanged looks as the older man was pulled deeply into his own thoughts. Realizing that Magneto was going to say no more and that there was nothing more to discuss that group disbanded for the time being.

XXXXXXXX

Rogue quietly shut the front door behind her before she sat on the front stoop of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. She pulled off her gloves and flipped open the cellular phone she had borrowed from Remy. She pressed the familiar sequence of numbers before putting the phone to her ear.

One ring . . .

. . . two rings . . .

. . . three rings . . .

. . . four . . .

"Ja, vhat do you need, Remy?" Rogue couldn't help but smile when she heard the familiar voice of her "brother."

"Ah hate ta disahpoint ya, Kurt," Rogue said with a smile, both on her face and in her voice, "but Ah'm not Remy."

"Mein schwester!" Kurt exclaimed loudly and caused Rogue to pull the phone away from her ear, "It is so good to hear your voice!" A sad smile crossed her face as Mystique's words echoed in her head once more.

"It's good ta hear ya too, Fuzzy," Rogue replied as silent tears ran down her face, and her brother began talking quickly about how things were at the Institute.

XXXXXXXX

"Follah tha instruction on tha board," Rogue said tersely as she waved her wand an the instructions wrote themselves on the board, "This particular antidote will need ta simmer overnahght. Ya'll are responsible for comin' down here some time tamarrah and finishin' it. Failure ta do so will result in a zero and _some_ of ya can't afford that." She looked harshly as some of the Gryffindor second years as the Slytherins snickered. The students began their work silently as Rogue started grading the essays they had just handed in.

The past two weeks since the arrival of Magneto had been relatively uneventful for the undercover mutant. The past weekend she had been invited to tea again by the Death Eater women. Several of them asked her to make some potions (potions that were far from being _legal_ in any sense of the term) because their personal stores were getting "low." Aside from the requests, the women gossiped about other women, who Rogue didn't know or familiar with, but she pretended to be deeply interested the entire time.

But she was still no closer to finding Rahne.

Not to mention after her phone call with Kurt and having him pass the phone off to Kitty, Rogue was feeling incredibly homesick. Today being Halloween, Kurt's favorite holiday, that sickening feeling in her gut was just increased ten fold. Forcing the feelings of longing to the back of her mind, she focused once more on the papers in front of her.

Slowly the second years finished up their potions and began to set them up along the back wall to simmer overnight. The clock tower chimed signaling the end of the class period and several of the students struggled to finish their potions. The rest were packing up to leave. Rogue reminded them once more that they needed to complete the potion on their own time tomorrow. The students filed out of the dungeon and Rogue sat hunched over the essays and continued grading them.

When the door opened and shut ten minutes later, she didn't bother to look up. The near silent steps and brushing sound of fabric was more than enough to tell her that it was Snape, and not a student, who had entered the classroom.

"No accidents?" Snape asked surprised as he looked around the dungeon, "Usually at least one student melts a pot when brewing this particular antidote . . ." Rogue couldn't help but smirk.

"When ya put the fear of Gawd in the students, then tend to screw up less," Rogue replied as she finally looked up, "Ah've been meanin' ta ask ya: Is there some sorta special celebration in the wizarding world for Halloween?" Snape regarded her question carefully.

"Many of the conceptions you probably have are false," Snape replied evenly as he leaned against a student work desk, "There are no strange rituals or sacrifices, if that's what you're asking. Some of the wealthier families throw masquerade balls, such as the Malfoys, others have feasts, which is what we do here at Hogwarts. In all honesty, it's nothing too spectacular." Rogue nodded in understanding before smiling wryly.

"Kurt's goin' ta be disappointed," Rogue said with a smile, "He's got all these crazy notions about Halloween . . ."

"And Kurt is . . .?" Snape asked with genuine curiosity. After the display of affection between her and that Gambit fellow, he was highly curious as to who this "Kurt" was.

"Well, Ah guess ya could say he is mah brotha," Rogue reasoned as she bit her lip, "but we're not related by blood. His natural motha adopted meh, so we're . . . fostah brotha and sista." Snaped arched an eyebrow. "It's all really complicated . . ."

"Most families are," Snape said with a shrug before heading to the door, "I'll see you at the feast tonight."

XXXXXXXX

After the Halloween Feast (Fred and George had, of course, charmed all the floating pumpkins in the Great Hall to annoyingly serenade Umbridge) Harry returned to his dormitory, as the clock struck the nine 'o' clock hour, feeling completely exhausted. Deciding to forego his homework for the night, he quickly changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed. It wasn't before long that is eyes drooped shut and he was dreaming.

_The dream was surreal. He was low to the ground and moving fast, but he wasn't running. No, this had a very distinct feel to it . . . almost like he was . . . **slithering**_ . . .

_He could see his prey before him. Tall, gangly, with a mop of disgusting red hair. He just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. He could hear the voice of his prey as the wizard talked to himself about something that needed to be taken care of. But the words were indistinct and muffled._

_Patience . . . this was all about patience . . ._

_Then the opportunity presented itself. The briefest flash of bare skin right above the ankle . . . _

_He struck and bit down hard._

Harry sat up in his bed screaming and covered in cold sweat. The other boys were awake and questioning Harry if he was alright. Harry shook his head over and over.

"Dumbledore," he croaked as soon as he found his voice, "I-I-I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore . . ." He leapt out of bed and bolted out of the fifth year dorm. He sprinted down the stairs and out the portrait hole. Panicked thoughts were running through his head as his feet automatically led him to the gargoyle that protected the headmaster's office. Lucky for Harry, the headmaster was standing just beside his statuary guardian.

"Professor," Harry gasped, "something horrible has happened! Mr. Weasley! I _know_ Mr. Weasly has been attacked!"


	24. Following a Hunch

**Authors' Note:** After about a year, a lot of stress, and overcoming some serious writer's block, I'M BACK!!!!

Along with the lovely Jinxeh of course.

I'm so sorry about the long wait for an update guys, I really am. But things in my life have been chaotic and I just haven't had any time to write or to really thing about what direction I wanted this story to take. But after having a sudden bout of inspiration while watching my brother and uncle blow things up in the backyard on July 4th, Jinxeh and I have finished the next two chapters.

That's right, I said **two** chapters. The next chapter will probably be posted sometime next week.

I should also include this:

**SPOILER ALERT!!!!!**

We have both finished the 7th Harry Potter book, so there will be spoilers in the next two chapters and probably continuing on from this point forward. If you haven't finished the book yet, DO SO NOW! If you have, read on and enjoy.

It's so great to be back!

* * *

Chapter 24: Following a Hunch

The days following Mr. Weasley's attack were chaotic for both the magical and mutant members of the Order of the Phoenix. Arthur's absence meant that someone else needed to do his patrols, and responsibility that Piotr took squarely onto his broad shoulders and attended to with dedication. After visiting Mr. Weasley in the hospital and being assured that he would make a full recovery, the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione returned to school. When things had finally settled back in to a more normal routine about a week later, Dumbledore called Snape into his office.

"Severus," the headmaster began, "these recent events have only confirmed what I feared. Harry is connected to Voldemort so strongly, that they are able to see into the other's mind."

"But how?"

"I have my guesses, but I can only speculate for the time being. I need your help, though, to find out more, and to help Harry control what gets through this connection that has been growing between their minds."

"Occulmency," Snape replied beating the headmaster to the punch. "You want me to teach him." Dumbledore nodded. "You know just as well as I do that he isn't going to fancy this idea at all."

"I know, but Severus you _must_ try." There was such an undeniable urgency in his voice that Snape could not ignore. His thoughts flashed to a pair of emerald green eyes before he nodded in agreement to Dumbledore's plan.

"I'll do my best," Snape replied. "I will speak with him after class today to set up the first lesson." Dumbledore nodded in thanks and Snape lest the headmaster's office to prepare for his next class and talking to Potter about learning Occulmency.

xXx

Jean was exhausted.

She had pulled all-nighters before; bouncing from school to work to X-Men business and then going back to school for the next day of classes. She was used to being tired and was usually able to work through it and catch a second wind. But what she felt now, was way beyond anything she had been through before.

Everyone had been pressing her daily. Asking if she was getting enough sleep. If she was feeling ill. If she wanted to go lie down for a bit. If she wanted a cup of tea. Scott and Mrs. Weasley were being the most concerned of all. She always maintained that she was alright, but people seemed less and less convinced as the days went by.

The bags under her eyes became darker, her skin had taken an unnatural hue of pale white; she seemed to be loosing some weight, her appetite had vanished, and she didn't compose herself, letting her look become more unkempt than it usually was.

But Jean couldn't tell them what was wrong, they just wouldn't understand. She just couldn't tell them that she was constantly being pulled . . .

They probably would think she had lost her mind or that it was some dark magic spell that had been cast on her by something she had touched while cleaning the house.

But it wasn't.

Jean could feel a definite pull on her. Almost like there was an invisible rope tied around her middle and someone was yanking hard on the other end.

She had felt the vaguest tug the first time she had entered the Leaky Cauldron. She had dismissed it at the time as her mind playing tricks on her. The next tug occurred when Bill, Charlie, and Tonks had shown up at the hotel. An even stronger tug pulled at her the first time she met Remus Lupin. By the time she had settled down into Grimmauld Place, the pulling sensation was constant and it took all of her energy to resist giving in.

There was even one time that she had blacked-out and woke to find herself standing at the front door with her hand on the doorknob, ready to leave. That had frightened her most of all.

Even now, as she was lying in her bed in the headquarters, the pull was draining her ability to resist.

**You need to go.**

"No, I don't. How do I know this isn't some trap, Phoenix?"

**Because it's me telling you . . . I am you now . . . but I was not always you . . . there were others that came before . . .**

Jean sighed and rubbed her temples. The Phoenix Force didn't manifest itself often, but when it did, it was always in the form of a voice. At least it wasn't attempting to take over her entire being again . . .

"You make no sense."

**Go, and you will understand.**

It spoke with urgency as though its existence depended upon Jean following this tug. Maybe it did. Moved by curiosity and the emotion she had heard and felt, Jean grabbed her black pea-coat and went downstairs, heading for the front door.

"Red, where are you goin'?" Logan asked as she walked past the living room. Sirius and Remus looked up from their discussion while Remy watched through half lidded eyes as he dozed by the fire.

"I need to go out for a moment. A walk in the fresh air will do me some good." Logan raised an eyebrow.

"I though you were feelin' alright?" Jean ignored the question; the Phoenix Force was getting impatient.

"I've got my cell on me," she responded curtly and left. Remy, now eyes wide open and awake, turned to Logan.

"Want me t' follow her?" he asked, reaching for his duster.

"No, she'd know, anyway. Red's a strong girl; she can take care of herself in a tight spot," Logan replied and went back to the newspaper.

Meanwhile Jean had walked to the end of the street, while telepathically monitoring their conversation. Convinced no one would follow her, she did a sweep of her general vicinity. It was completely deserted, and she couldn't sense anyone watching her. Taking a deep breath she focused her telekinesis and took to the sky to follow the pull.

xXx

Rogue was sitting in her private chambers, her eyes closed in deep concentration. On her desk there was a blank piece of parchment, in her hand a quill was poised and ready to start writing. She was currently going through all of Snape's memories, looking for anything and everything he knew about the Malfoys, the Blacks, and the Lestranges.

She was tired of taking orders that led to dead ends.

She was tired of waiting while Rahne drifted further and further away from them.

From the borrowed memories, she had determined the best course of action and the best person to approach. With a look of determination she dipped her quill into the ink-pot on her desk and began writing . . .

_Mistress Bellatrix Lestrange…_

xXx

When Jean touched down in the small village, she pulled her coat tighter around her. The wind had picked up significantly, blowing crackling leaves along the sidewalks and down the narrow streets. There were very few people out and about as an early November storm sat brewing and thundering in the distance. The few people that were on the streets moved quickly and with purpose to make it home before the storm hit.

**Godric's Hollow.**

There was warmth, bitterness, and excitement wrapped and compacted into those two words that the Phoenix thought. Jean could feel the pull become even stronger as she walked down the main street. She walked cautiously down the empty streets, following the invisible line that was tethered to her as she sought out the anchor.

**There!**

Jean saw the ruins of the cottage the instant the Phoenix exclaimed. It was still mostly standing, but was hidden by the long grass of the front yard, overgrown bushes, and untamed ivy. The most notable aspect of the cottage was that the top right portion of the house had been completely blown apart, like an isolated explosion had occurred inside it.

She approached the gate and felt some resistance, like when she had entered The Leaky Cauldron for the first time. She reached the gate and all resistance was gone. A sign blossomed up from the ground.

On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,  
Lily and James Potter lost their lives.  
Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard  
ever to have survived the Killing Curse.  
This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left  
in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters  
and as a reminder of the violence  
that tore apart their family.

Jean brought a hand to her mouth as a tear rolled down her cheek. It had been one thing to hear the story of Harry Potter and all that had happened during his life told to her in the kitchen of headquarters by Sirius and Remus, but it was quite another thing to stand in front of the house that was in the same condition it had been left in after the attack the night his parents died. Jean was overcome with emotion and let the tears stream quietly down her cheeks.

"Oh, poor Harry . . ."

**Go in.**

"What?"

**Go in! So close . . . you must go in . . . GO IN!**

The mental shove that she got from the Phoenix rammed her hip into the gate, causing the entire fence to shake.

"But . . ." Jean said, shutting her eyes to control the being within her.

When she opened her eyes again she was standing right in front of the door.

**Please . . . I need to go in . . . reclaim what I left behind . . .  
**

Jean cautiously pushed open the door and peered into the demolished house.

"H-h-hello?" she called crossing the threshold into the house.

The instant she did, she was bombarded by a searing pain in the depths of her mind, and screaming, both vocally and mentally, she crumpled to the floor and fell unconscious.

xXx

"JEAN!" Scott screamed as he jerked awake. He had fallen asleep over his plans while sitting at a desk in the study. Now fully awake from Jean's psychic scream, he bounded from the desk, out the room, down the hall and stairs and ran into the living room.

"Where is Jean?!" he demanded of the men in the living room, who looked up in surprise at the urgency in his voice.

"She left about an hour ago," Sirius replied. "She said she was going for a walk."

"Slim, what's wrong?" Logan asked and sounded genuinely concerned. It took a lot for Scott to truly lose his cool like this.

"Jean . . . I—I was asleep and suddenly I heard her screaming and felt this…_incredible_ pain. Something's wrong – what if she was attacked?"

Scott was beside himself with worry, and this was apparent to all of the men in the room. Logan kept his cool and pulled out his cell phone, and Remus ushered Scott to the sofa. He dialed Jean's number and let it ring . . .

. . . and ring . . .

. . . and ring . . .

. . . and then Jean's voice . . .

"Damn, voicemail," Logan swore and hung up. He flipped open the phone and dialed again. "She's not answering her phone."

"She couldn't have gone far," Sirius said, but Logan was one step ahead of him. He took a quick sniff of the air, and singled out Jean's scent. He then ran outside while the others stared after him and moved to follow. Logan returned before they had even made it to the door.

"Her scent ends at the end of the street. She must have been picked up or flew from there."

"I'll put the word out amongst the Order," Remus said grabbing his cloak. While he was worried for Jean's safety, another worry crept up on him. He knew that the combination of Jean and Rouge would be the best bet of safely locating his daughter and without one of them there…

If Jean had been captured, he admitted morosely to himself, it seemed even less likely that he would ever see Rahne again.

xXx

"Mistress Bellatrix," a squeaky voice piped up from the door way of the Malfoy sitting room, "a letter just arrived for you by owl." Bellatrix heaved a sigh, as though the House Elf was purposely trying her patience.

"Bring it here," she commanded, not bothering to rise from her seat near the fire. The House Elf scurried over, holding a silver tray high, upon which rested the letter. She snatched it up and glanced at the unfamiliar handwriting cautiously before opening it up. As she read the enclosed letter, a smile erupted across her face.

A smile of sinister delight.

She began to laugh.

"Oh, this is too good! You, elf, bring me writing supplies." The House Elf scurried off quickly and Bellatrix continued to laugh. Her laugh had a dark ring to it.

She decided that she quite liked Anna Marie D'Ancanto. She liked her very much indeed.


	25. Lily's Tale

**A/N:** Here it is, just like I promised, a fresh new chapter. Now I'm not sure how long Jinxeh and I can keep this pace up, but I promise to not let this story go that long again without an update.

I really do feel rather awful about that . . .

So this chapter is a combined effort by both Jinxeh and myself, which I think let this chapter really be pretty freaking sweet. I hope you all enjoy this chapter very much!

-A. Ravenlockes

* * *

Chapter 25: Lily's Tale

When Jean opened her eyes again, the house was restored and whole, not destroyed, like before she had fallen to the ground. She pushed opened the door from the kitchen and entered into the living room. Sitting on the sofa was a man with untidy black hair and round glasses; he was holding a baby boy who looked very much like him, even from a young age.

_James Potter!_ Jean exclaimed these words, but they did not come out of her mouth. What came out instead was a foreign voice with a light British accent.

"And how are my boys doing?" she asked and watched Harry grab at the colorful smoke rings in the air.

"We're just fine, but I think Harry is getting a might tired," James responded scooping the boy up and putting him into her arms.

"It's getting late for him, especially since he didn't have his nap today." Jean realized that it was Lily's voice coming out of her mouth, and that she had no control over her movements. For the moment, it seemed, she _was_ Lily Potter. With the boy in her arms, she climbed the stairs and headed up to Harry's room. She had just entered when she heard a bang from downstairs, and James shouted:

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

But Jean knew she had nowhere to run, she didn't have her wand or a means of escape. Only one thing was certain: she had to protect her son.

Without even realizing what was happening, the door slammed shut of its own accord and boxes piled up in front of it. She could feel a raw, ancient power coursing through her veins like never before. She knew that the Phoenix was coming to the surface.

From downstairs, she could hear laughing and someone shout, "_Avada Kedavra!_"

James was dead. There was no way she could deny that fact.

"Please, my life doesn't matter, but protect my son, _please_," she whispered to the empty room.

**If this is what you want, then it is so.**

Jean could feel a force pass from her and through tiny Harry in her arms.

**I have done what I can for the boy, but you must do the rest.**

The boxes flew from where they were blocking the door, and a shadowy figure walked into the room menacingly. Jean put Harry down into the crib and stood in front of it, her arms spread wide.

**You have chosen death, therefore there is nothing I can do to save **_**you**_** . . . but your actions with my protection will save your son.**

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" The words poured from her mouth gaining some strength from what the Phoenix had just told her.

"Stand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside, now." The voice was high and cold, sending chills down Jean's spine.

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"

"This is my last warning—"

**You could defeat him with me by your side; there is still time, just say the word…**

Jean ignored the offer. That wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. She could defeat him, maybe . . . but the chance that she might fail and put Harry in more danger was, although slim, not something she was willing to consider for even one moment.

"Not Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything—"

**Then your decision is final, but know there is another . . . greater than your son that I will move on to.**

_What?! No! You must stay with Harry!_ Lily's thoughts rang clear as she argued with the Phoenix.

**I cannot.**

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

There was a tense moment and a flash of green light. Jean woke up, gasping for air.

She looked around her surroundings and realized that she was no longer in the front hall, but rather had somehow moved up into the destroyed part of the house: Harry's infanthood bedroom. Jean continued gasping for breath, as the vision was still fresh in her mind.

"It was so real . . ." she murmured to herself.

"That's because it is. Or at least it was," a familiar voice responded to Jean's comment. Jean jumped and looked around for the source of the voice. "Behind you, love."

Jean turned slowly and came face to face with a woman who looked remarkably like her. The long red hair, slender frame, shape of the face, and bright green eyes . . . all the same. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the charred remains of the crib. Jean shifted so that she was on her knees, instead of lying on the ground. She continued to stare at the woman in astonishment.

"Lily Potter?" Jean asked. The woman nodded. "But you're dead. I just . . . I just watched it _happen_."

"I know," Lily replied, "I keep replaying it over and over. I keep hoping it will change, but it never does. I should have fought him; with it I wouldn't have needed my wand. No matter now, I can't change the past." Lily paused for a second and sighed deeply. "Now it has returned."

"It?"

"The Phoenix Force," Lily replied, "I always figured it would come back for me."

"What do you mean?" Jean asked confused and then the realization struck her. "You possessed the Phoenix Force?" she asked in astonishment; Lily nodded.

"Up until the moment I died, trying to save my son," Lily said, "I was the host right before you were, Jean."

"How do you know my name? How are you still here?" Jean was bewildered and confused beyond all explanation. It was not possible for someone to come back from the dead. It just couldn't be done.

"It's rather complex, but you know the story of the Phoenix Force. It explained it to you before it inhabited you, did it not?"

Jean's memory was a little fuzzy concerning the Phoenix Force. She tried desperately to remember exactly when she had first known of its existence.

"I—I don't know," Jean replied, "I remember having a strange dreams when I was younger about this voice was talking to me. But…the Phoenix Force didn't manifest in me until a couple of years ago . . ."

"It was lying dormant then, until you had reached a stage where you could handle its power," Lily explained. "The same thing happened to me. The Phoenix came to me when I was eleven, right before I left for Hogwarts. It explained to me that its previous host had died, and though that physical body had perished, the force still lived on, but needed a new host.

"It told me that it was selective, though. It only picks those that have the greatest possible potential for power. It doesn't matter what the power is apparently, whether it is magical, mutant, or otherwise. In return for allowing it to inhabit you and bond with your soul, it helps you reach that potential."

"I don't remember this being explained to me," Jean protested. Lily shrugged.

"If what you said about dreams is true, you were probably too young to remember it."

"But how are you still here if the Phoenix moved on to me?" Jean asked.

"The Killing Curse is unique," Lily explained, sighing deeply. "It literally rips the soul from the body. When Voldemort cast it on me, he did not know that my soul was host to the Phoenix Force. Odds are, only those who are inhabited by the Force are the ones who know of it. When my soul was ripped from my body, he also ripped out the Phoenix Force; the two were literally one in the same.

"As the force can never perish, neither could my soul and memory, even though my body was dead. From what I can understand, there is a time of transition where the Phoenix Force is able to remove it's connection with the host's soul, my soul did get that leisure. Usually a soul is able to move onto the afterlife, or it can choose to remain behind as a ghost. I had no choice; because of the way that my soul ripped from my body and the fact that it was grounded in a being that can only remain in the realm of the living caused something very unusual to happen. When the Phoenix was ripped out of my body with my soul, it left to find its new host, you. But because of the rip, part of it was forced to remain behind. That is all I am, a remnant of a Phoenix past."

"How do you know so much about me? You knew my name, that I was a mutant . . . are you a telepath as well as a witch?" Jean narrowed her eyes, but Lily just shook her head.

"Like I said before dear, the only reason I'm still here is because part of the Phoenix Force was ripped from the whole," Lily elaborated, "but I'm still part of the Phoenix Force. I watched you grow up, just as the rest of the Phoenix did. I watched as you went to school, played as a child, as your powers manifested, as you grew into an intelligent, powerful young woman. I saw it all. But because of the violent way that I died, the remnant was trapped to this house and couldn't rejoin the whole."

"Does this mean that there are other Phoenix remnants out there?" Jean asked.

"To my knowledge, no. But that's always a possibility." There was a silence that hung between the two redheads as Jean searched for something to say. But all she could do was stare at Lily. She looked so sad and defeated.

"Why didn't you use the Phoenix to defeat Voldemort?" Jean asked. Lily smiled ruefully.

"For the longest time, I thought it was what my destiny was," Lily admitted. "With all his hatred for Muggle-borns, I figured about the time that I was a 5th year that it would be poetic justice for a 'mudblood' to defeat him. So I spent the last two years of my education preparing to fight him. And then . . ." Lily trailed off as a glassy look washed over her face.

"Yes?" Jean prompted.

"And then James Potter happened. Despite my friend, Snape's, protests, I fell in love with James."

"Snape? As in Severus Snape?" Jean asked shocked.

"Yes, we were childhood friends. We grew up just down the lane from each other. He was the one who told me I was a witch."

"Oh," Jean said quietly. Lily smiled.

"After James and I got married," Lily continued on, "I told James about the Phoenix Force. He was the first person I ever confided the information to."

"You didn't tell Dumbledore?"

"No," Lily said shaking her head, "I was too terrified to tell him. The Phoenix could sense in him a desire for power and would fight me, and sometimes take over me, whenever I wanted to tell him. The Phoenix, however, had no arguments when I finally decided to tell James. James also thought what I thought: that I would be the one to take on Voldemort. After arguing with the Phoenix further and eventually coming to an agreement, the three of us decided that telling Dumbledore about it was the best plan of action. Then I found out I was pregnant with Harry. From that moment on James would not let me out of his sight, and changed his mind about telling Albus, which relieved the Phoenix greatly. We all agreed that I would soon be in no condition to take Voldemort head on.

"Late in my pregnancy, Dumbledore pulled James and I aside at an Order meeting and told us about a prophecy that Sybil Trelawny had made. He felt that our child, our son, was the one referred to in the prophecy and he insisted that we go into hiding."

"And you never told Dumbledore about the Force?" Jean inquired again. Lily shook her head.

"James and I both thought that the Force would pass from me to Harry if I died," Lily admitted. "We thought that the Phoenix Force couldn't possibly choose someone else. We were both sorely mistaken."

"It chose me," Jean said softly. Lily nodded. "What happens now?"

"The Phoenix will become whole again," Lily said simply.

"But what will happen to you, your soul, your memory?" Jean asked. All Lily could do was shrug.

"We're about to find out."

There was a sudden rush of wind that rocked the house. A whirlwind swirled around the two in the room. Jean's head exploded into pain again and she cried out; Lily too cried out in pain. The wind continued to pick up and gained an orange tint to it. A shape, much like a large bird passed through the figure of Lily and she was gone, absorbed into the whirlwind. That same shape then flew directly into Jean's chest and knocked her back against the wall.

Once again, she lost consciousness.

xXx

"This is _unacceptable_!"

Scott Summers was beside himself with worry as he paced back and forth in the kitchen to Number 12, Grimmauld Place. It seemed that, at the moment, there was really nothing anyone _could_ do but wait, pace, and worry. All of which Scott was excelling at for the moment.

Remus had gone ahead to Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore that the young redhead was missing, but there was nothing that the non-magical, newer members of the Order could do. Logan and the others had convened in the parlor room to discuss what to do if she didn't show up soon, but Scott couldn't handle that right now. They were saying the same things over and over again, and were getting nowhere, and so eventually he removed himself from the room. He was annoying the others with his pacing, anyway, so they were probably grateful for his sudden absence.

"How could she just _leave_ like that?" Scott muttered to himself, running a hand through his slightly shaggy brown hair in frustration. If he'd known that she was 'going out for some air' like Logan had told him she'd said, he would have offered to go with her. How stupid was it, for any of them to leave Grimmauld Place alone like that? "God, Jean, where are you?"

"Scott?"

Scott turned around so quickly at the light female voice behind him, that he rammed his hip into an old wooden table. He paid this no mind, however, for it was an inconsequential thing when compared to Jean, who was standing pale and shaking in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at him with those wide green eyes . . . it was all he could do not to yell out in relief. None of her appearance registered with the worried teenager, he was just glad to see that she was alive. His relief translated into rushed footsteps and a tight embrace, which only added to Jean's current bemusement.

"Scott? Scott . . . " Jean seemed to be having trouble getting her words out, partially because of her overwhelming exhaustion, but mainly because Scott was squeezing the breath out of her. Finally, Scott let her go but only so that he could step back and take a look at her. He gently grabbed her arms, held her at arm's length, and looked her over, as though inspecting her. "Scott—"

"Jean . . ." Scott said drinking her in with his ruby quartz protected eyes, "Thank God you're all right! Where have you _been_? We've all been worried sick about you!" His voice was quite obviously torn between scolding her and just being relieved that she was all right. "Lupin already went to Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore we thought you were missing, Logan's practically making battle plans to find y—Jean, what's wrong?"

For the first time, Scott seemed to have taken notice of the weakened state that Jean was in. Her normally well-groomed red hair was in disarray and hanging all over her pale face, her green eyes were wide, awe-stricken, and her clothing was covered in dust…of course, the first thought to reach Scott's mind was that she'd been attacked by someone or something, and that put him on edge. However, before he could even begin demanding of her what had happened, there was a thundering of footsteps behind them, and suddenly the stairway leading down to the kitchen was filled with exclaiming people.

"Red! Where the hell have you been?" Logan was barking, while both Sirius and Remy were taking a slightly quieter, but just as urgent approach at questioning her. X-23 stood off to the side with Piotr, both looking moderately worried, but also slightly at ease now that their missing team member had been found. After another moment, Lupin was there too; he'd just arrived back from Hogwarts, and it shocked him to see Jean standing there, when he'd just gone ahead and reported her missing. It all happened as a blur to Jean; people suddenly appearing as though out of nowhere, all talking at once, confusing her . . .

Something inside of Jean crumbled as she looked around to the worried, confused, yet relieved faces that were surrounding her. She felt such love for these people, unordinary love, and recognition for people she'd only talked to out of duty . . . she was torn, unable to answer their questions, her mind reeling and her head feeling like it was going to burst.

She was Jean Grey, member of the X-Men, host to the Phoenix Force, and surrounded by the mutants that she thought of as her family. She was enclosed by them, she felt safe when they were around her, but she also felt . . . something more that hadn't been there before . . .

Then it dawned upon her.

She was also Lily Potter. The loving mother of The-Boy-Who-Lived, adoring wife of James Potter, member of the Order of the Phoenix, and formerly, and now also currently, host of the Phoenix Force. Seeing Remus and Sirius standing there, looking at her in such concern and relief . . . it was heartwarming, but also heartbreaking as all of her memories returned and bubbled up to the surface. Her James wasn't there with her, but these people loved her and were her friends . . .

Lily Potter, through the mind of Jean Grey, was back.


End file.
